


Not The Crown That Makes The Princess

by OceanSpray5



Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: Background Odissi and Ulumi, Code July 2020, F/M, Found Family, Gen, Inspired by Barbie Princess Charm School, It's the entire reason I wrote this fic really, Lyoko Warriors, Royal Academy AU, Shameless Jerlita Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:07:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 27,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25186117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanSpray5/pseuds/OceanSpray5
Summary: Aelita Stones gulped as she looked up into the grand entrance hall of the towering building she had just entered. It was her new home for the next year. The glass chandelier reflected the room's light brilliantly illuminating the beautiful antiques and expensive paintings hanging from the walls. The sheer grandness of the room made her feel inexplicably tiny and out of place. She had entered a different world. A world not for her. Or at least… that’s what it felt like. The Kadic Royal Academy was the most prestigious school in Europe, possibly the world but, as the name suggested, it was a school for young royals. Something Aelita was far from.Taking a deep breath, she geared her confidence. So what if she wasn’t of noble birth? She had won her opportunity fair and square. She deserved to be here. With a smile, she stepped forward, surer of herself this time. Unfortunately, despite her regained confidence Aelita ended up stepping on someone the very next second.“I’m sorry!” She blurted, her confidence fast fading. She stood there waiting for a severe talking to from whichever stuck up royal she had the misfortune of meeting first. The stranger only laughed.“It’s alright,” he said kindly. "I'm Jeremy."
Relationships: Aelita Schaeffer & Ulrich Stern, Jeremie Belpois/Aelita Schaeffer, Odd Della Robbia & Aelita Schaeffer, Odd Della Robbia/Sissi Delmas, Yumi Ishiyama & Aelita Schaeffer
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So... I had a sudden inspiration for this AU more than a month ago when I first was getting into Code Lyoko. I had just watched Barbie Princess Charm School which is my favorite Barbie film and the plots just intertwined. I basically just wanted to write Jerlita Royalty AU fluff and writing the plot parts of this was SO hard to crank out. Anyway... I put more than a month of effort into this. It was supposed to be a oneshot but it became so long I divided it into three parts and possibly an Epilogue for pacing purposes. 
> 
> I really like Odissi as a potential relationship so there's bits of that as well. Ulumi, I do like but unfortunately find hard to write so there aren't many of their moments but I hope you will enjoy this story all the same.
> 
> I hate coming up with titles. The one for this is extremely cheesy I know but I couldn't think of anything else and didn't want to waste time posting this. Its sheer coincidence I got it done in time for Code July especially AU day. I have exams so I'm glad I managed to get this done in time.
> 
> So... without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

Aelita Stones gulped as she looked up into the grand entrance hall of the towering building she had just entered. It was her new home at least for the next year. The glass chandelier reflected the light brilliantly in the room illuminating the beautiful antiques and expensive paintings hanging from the walls. The sheer grandness of the room made her feel inexplicably tiny and out of place.

She had entered a different world. A world not for her. Or at least… that’s what it felt like.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t wanted to come here. The Kadic Royal Academy was the most prestigious school in Europe, possibly the world. It was situated in the Kingdom of Lyoko that neighbored France and Germany but, as the name suggested, it was a school for young royals. Something Aelita was far from.

The school was dedicated to training nobility of all ages and from all around the world to prepare them for their futures as governing rulers of their kingdoms. Aside from future monarchs, the school accepted the children of dukes and duchesses, lords and ladies as well as the children to advisors in royal courts. It was meant purely for the elite. Every now and then, the general public was allowed permission but the entrance examination alone was enough to turn away the majority of hopeful commoners desiring to attend the prestigious academy. Few got accepted and even fewer stayed for long. The royal lifestyle was incredibly difficult to fully blend into for someone not of noble birth.

Aelita had gotten lucky and had won the Academy’s annual lottery. Conducted just for the citizens of Lyoko, the lottery was a system where young Lyokians between the ages of 12 to 17 were allowed to submit their name for consideration to be randomly selected to attend the elite boarding school. Growing up, Aelita had adored watching the ceremony on the orphanage’s beat up old television. She hadn’t many friends and the orphanage wasn’t the nicest place to live in either. The idea of living in a modernistic beautiful castle and making amazing friends as the tabloids suggested had fed her fantasies for the longest time. It was only when Aelita grew up and finally turned 15 that she realized her fantasies were to be nothing more.

The school rarely accepted commoners let alone an orphan. The students, it seemed, were also arrogant tantrum driven celebrities. The paparazzi was very often staked out in front of the royal academy and many a story had emerged of the unfriendly spoilt students. It was mainly only a few regulars that made the top headlines and the school had more than a few hundred students but no longer did the tabloid spreads show cool popular girls and boys. It instead showed a dream that was unattainable and people who were too different. Even from what was published, how much of it was true? Nobody knew for sure but, of course, it was easier to believe and hate the royalty residing within the walls of the academy that was closed to the public than envy them openly.

Aelita had almost forgone submitting her name at all once she turned 17. The Kadic Royal Academy had announced their annual lottery and Aelita had already tried submitting her name the previous few years. She hadn’t been expecting anything back then yet there was always a bitter stab of disappointment as someone else’s name was declared at the selection ceremony. Someone who either dropped out halfway through their first semester or, as far as Aelita had found out, didn’t manage to graduate on time. That only fueled her belief in what the paparazzi said was true and she wondered if going was worth it anymore at all.

Seventeen was officially her last year of being eligible to participate. A part of her didn’t want to submit her name. The lingering ‘ _what if’_ could probably fuel her fantasies of a better more magical life in the future if she never bothered and never got in. That was a dream that would be foiled if she submitted her name but never got in. Besides, she had to focus on making a living for herself. Once she turned 18 the orphanage would have no choice but to turn her away. However, the lingering child inside of her, the one that was innocent yet fearless, refused to let her back down. So Aelita had signed in to the Kadic Submissions website from the computer in the main room of the orphanage for possibly the last time.

The school had an unlimited submission policy and Aelita had, in previous years, submitted her name many times. This time she only settled for three submissions, letting her imagination let loose for a few minutes and allow her a daydream where her better life would consist not of waiting tables at restaurants but being an advisor to one of the royals. She would never be a Princess or a Duchess but an Advisor was a high-ranking position too. With a sigh, Aelita exited from the page. Three times was enough, she told herself. If it was meant to be she would get in. It wasn’t like spending days on end trying to resubmit her name as many times as possible had done her any good in the previous years. . 

Finally, D-day arrived. Aelita had been watching with her fellow girls in the orphanage as the regular formalities and speeches were made at the start of the ceremony held in one of Kadic’s open lawns. She had braced herself for someone else’s name, just like past years.

Finally, the moment arrived. The lottery barrel spun a few times and a dark-haired girl was invited to pick out the lucky winner. Unknowingly, Aelita held her breath, almost turning away to brace herself for disappointment.

In the next moment, “Aelita Stones” was declared as the year’s lottery winner.

Aelita felt her mind go numb in shock before she was tackled in excitement by some of the younger girls in the orphanage! The fact of being the winner hadn’t even begun to sink in yet lavish transportation arrived for her an hour later, and Aelita, still in shock, had hugged her younger peers goodbye and left for the prestigious academy. The very academy she now stood in the entrance hall of, feeling very out of place in.

As Aelita slowly walked in, she cringed at every step she took forward. Would she get into trouble for getting the carpet dirty with her muddy shoes? It was beautifully crafted and Aelita knew it was probably as expensive as the rest of the objects around her. Suddenly it made sense why the other winners tended to drop out. Aelita’s clean yet old clothes, her meager luggage and her nervous mannerisms seemed to largely contrast with her proud lavish environment as well as the image of perfection she had grown up watching on TV.

Taking a deep breath, she geared her confidence and walked forward. She had been dreaming of this day since she was little. So what if she wasn’t of noble birth? She had won her opportunity fair and square. She deserved to be here. With a smile, she stepped forward, surer of herself this time. Unfortunately, despite her regained confidence, she ended up stepping on someone in the very next second. So lost had she been in her thoughts that Aelita hardly realized where she was going and inadvertently bumped into someone, nearly ending up on the floor, if the stranger she had knocked into hadn’t caught and steadied her.

“I’m sorry!” Aelita blurted out, her confidence fast fading again. She stood there waiting for a severe talking to from whichever stuck up royal she had the misfortune of meeting first. The stranger only laughed.

“It’s alright,” he replied kindly and Aelita for the first time took in his appearance. He was a little taller than her with blonde hair and blue eyes framed with black rimmed glasses. His eyes had an intelligent gleam to them yet they were focused on her and looked both curious but kind.

“You’re Aelita Stones?” He asked and Aelita nodded.

“How did you know?” she asked. She hadn’t expected anyone to know her already but she supposed it was obvious. She didn’t quite blend in yet.

“You’re the lottery winner,” the boy replied matter-of-factly. “No one else would join a few days after the student arrival period.” He gestured to the luggage behind her and Aelita felt somewhat cornered, not knowing how to respond.

“You also look quite nervous,” the blonde continued, offering her a welcoming smile. He didn’t mention she looked out-of-place compared to what he was used to but Aelita felt that was probably obvious too.

“Yes. A little.” Aelita agreed shyly. “It’s a lot to take in.”

The boy looked sympathetic and Aelita felt the surge of confidence return enough to continue talking. She was nervous but she was excited too. “I’m happy to be here though. I’ve been dreaming of coming here since I was little. I didn’t really expect that dream to come true.”

The blonde smiled at her sweetly upon hearing that.

“Don’t be nervous. Would you like for me to show you around? Principal Delmas probably sent his daughter but you’re probably better off without her if you want to see the _whole_ school properly.”

Confusion painted Aelita’s face. “Wouldn’t she show me the whole school?”

The boy chuckled but Aelita felt comfortable knowing he wasn’t laughing at her.

“Sissi is… pretty single minded. It’s likely she’d show you her favorite spots around the school and forget to show you the actual classrooms. Not exactly the most ideal for a new student wanting to find their way around such a big school.” The boy looked amused as he considered the aforementioned Principal’s daughter.

“No. I wouldn’t want to get lost...” Aelita agreed with a small laugh trailing off when she realized she didn’t know the boy’s name.

“Jeremy,” the boy interjected. He looked at her, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I should have mentioned earlier.” She hadn’t asked and he’d already known her name. 

“Jeremy.” Aelita repeated softly. She smiled at the embarrassed boy. Jeremy was kind and made her feel safe and strangely at home. Despite her being aware he was a noble, he was nothing like the celebrity personality she expected him to be. Going with him seemed like a nice option and she didn’t feel quite ready to leave the one person she knew in this school just yet.

“I’d love a tour,” she added, answering Jeremy’s earlier question. Jeremy smiled as he gestured for her to walk ahead of him, blushing again slightly when Aelita giggled at his chivalry.

It was nice to already have made a friend. 

* * *

Jeremy took Aelita on a tour around the entire school. He first took her to Principal Delmas’ office. The Principal was surprised to see her with Jeremy but was relieved Aelita already had someone to guide her around the school – the school’s _best_ pupil for that matter. After the formality of a welcoming speech and rundown of the rules were delivered, Delmas handed Aelita a folder of her required school documents and sent her on her way. Jeremy was waiting for her outside the office and Aelita was once again struck by the kindness of the boy who decided to wait for her while likely having better places to be.

“Principal Delmas allowed be to show you around,” Jeremy explained, seeing her surprise. “Come on. I’ll show you the classes _and_ the best places to relax.”

True to his word, Jeremy led Aelita around the huge campus. They walked slowly and Jeremy even stopped multiple times, allowing Aelita to take in whatever room she was entranced by. He couldn’t help but smile seeing her awed expressions. Her eyes were filled with wonder and were like an innocent child’s.

Jeremy also couldn’t help but notice Aelita looked very pretty and every time she sent an excited smile towards Jeremy, the boy felt his heart beat just a bit faster. This had never happened to him before. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

After showing her the main classrooms, the cafeteria, the library, the computer labs, the front gardens and the rec room, Jeremy noticed Aelita was starting to drag her feet. Her focus was still on her surroundings but Jeremy realized showing her the dorms would be the best option. Dinner was an hour away and Aelita would want to freshen up and rest. So he led her to the building across the courtyard meant to house the students of the academy.

“I’m sure Jim will be by to grill you about all the rules at some point,” Jeremy told her as they walked up the stairs. “The boys’ dorms are upstairs and the girls’ rooms are downstairs. Your room is on level 3 according to your documents.”

He led Aelita to the 3rd floor entrance and stopped, unsure if he should walk with her further. There wasn’t anything wrong per se about the boys being on the girls’ floors before curfew but Jeremy suddenly felt self-conscious. He had noticed Aelita’s smile had slipped at certain points during the tour he had given her and was concerned. Had he invaded Aelita’s space too much? Had he rambled like he usually did and left her bored? Would she prefer to be alone now to take in the whole experience? It was a bit much, after all. Some space might be welcome.

“This is your floor. Your room should be down the hall. Dinner is at 8 in the cafeteria. I’m sure you’ll want to rest a bit before then. You can see the rest of the campus tomorrow.”

A flash of disappointment almost seemed to cross Aelita’s face once she noticed Jeremy wasn’t going to be walking with her any further. She had been enjoying his company and she didn’t want to let go of his comforting presence and friendliness just yet. But rest did sound nice so she agreed. She did want to see him again though and before she could stop herself, she asked shyly, “If it’s not too much trouble, can you show me the rest of the campus?”

Jeremy looked surprised but smiled eagerly, the slightest of heat rushing towards his cheeks when he realized Aelita actually enjoyed his company. “Of course! If you want to I don’t mind at all. I’ll see you at dinner later?”

Aelita nodded, smiling widely herself, before turning to walk to the dorms. Locating her room wasn’t a struggle at all and Aelita found herself gaping as she entered it after unlocking the door.

Half the room was larger than her room had been at the orphanage. It was a double bedroom with two four poster beds on either side with curtains to form a barrier around the beds with. A small table and a dresser accompanying the bed was next to each and there were closets on each corner of the room for each occupant’s belongings. The room was spacious and contained a small plush chair and mini sofa as well with a glass topped table. It was clear that the Kadic Academy spared no expense to make the students’ lives here a luxury.

So amazed was Aelita by the room that she barely noticed her roommate sitting on her bed. The girl looked up as Aelita entered the room and waited for the pink-haired girl to notice her before smiling.

“Hi! I’m Yumi.” The girl introduced. She was pretty. Dark hair framed the dark eyes of the Asian girl’s oval face and Aelita looked startled upon seeing her until the girl laughed.

“I’m Aelita,” she introduced with a smile.

“The lottery winner?” Yumi asked.

Aelita laughed, almost embarrassed. “Guess it’s not that hard for people to tell, is it?”

Yumi grinned. “Not at all. Your name was announced for all of Lyoko to hear after all. But don’t worry, the hype will die down.”

“I certainly hope so. Adjusting has been difficult enough as it is. Even if it was my dream to attend.”

“I understand,” Yumi nodded sympathetically. “It was the same with me in certain aspects.”

Aelita looked surprised. “Are you a princess? Or a lady royal?” She seemed to backtrack then unsure of Kadic’s etiquette on that yet. “If you don’t mind my asking.”

Yumi chuckled. “I don’t mind. Most people here would love to tell you their status. And I’m a princess. Yumi Ishiyama of Japan. Not directly in line for any thrones but I decided to come here either way. Eastern cultures are very different from the West so it took some time to adjust for me too. I did have the advantage of knowing royal customs, however. It was only the social environment that was a culture shock.”

“Oh… Well for me everything is a shock really. I never really knew what to expect of royal life. It’s a lot different from what I’m used to.” Aelita looked shy and Yumi walked over to her and set a comforting hand on the shorter girl’s shoulder.

“Don’t sweat it. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of how stuff around here works in no time. And I’m your roommate so I’ll help you wherever you need.” Not waiting for Aelita’s response, the Asian girl turned to Aelita’s side of the room, Yumi said, “They already delivered your luggage so if you want to rest before dinner, we have time. After dinner I’ll help you unpack.”

Aelita looked grateful as she nodded. Maybe all the people here weren’t stuck up and fitting in and making friends wouldn’t be so bad after all.

* * *

Later, Yumi took Aelita down to the cafeteria with her. The pink haired girl was famished and very much ready to eat. They got in line and selected their meals from the choices provided before Yumi led Aelita to her table. The younger girl had been looking somewhat lost, almost wondering if Yumi would want her to tag along before the Asian girl had simply said, “Come on Aelita!”

Yumi led Aelita to a table near the wide windows where two boys, a blonde and a brunette, were already seated.

“Yumi!” The blonde one yelled. His hair was gelled up and he had a purple dyed splotch on the front strands. “Who’s this?”

“This is Aelita Stones,” Yumi introduced her new friend to the boys. “She’s my roommate. I thought she could join us for dinner.”

The boys immediately nodded, recognizing the girl at once.

“Welcome to Kadic, Aelita,” the brunette smiled. “I’m Ulrich.”

“And I’m Odd!” The blonde introduced himself boisterously before turning to his meal and scarfing it down.

“Thank you,” Aelita smiled nervously.

“Ulrich is the Crown Prince of Germany,” Yumi detailed to the pink haired girl, answering the unspoken question. “And the one over there without the table manners is Odd, Prince of Italy.”

“Hey!” Odd mumbled, barely swallowing before turning to talk. “If you had as many sisters as I did ready to sit on the throne, you’d see no use for twenty fork table manners in casual settings either.”

Ulrich scoffed, “Odd, forget twenty forks. You barely even use the one!”

Yumi sighed and Aelita giggled, already relaxing around these people.

“Speaking of food and forks and sticklers for table manners, where’s Einstein?” Odd asked.

“He had to run to the computer lab to pick up his laptop. He said he gave it to Mrs. Hertz before gym since he couldn’t leave it at the dorms.” Ulrich replied.

Before Aelita could ask who this Einstein was, a familiar voice called from behind her. “Sorry I’m late guys, Oh- Aelita?”

Aelita turned around to see Jeremy take a seat on the bench next to her. He looked as surprised as her to see her sitting next to his friends.

The three remaining royals looked between the new girl and their blonde-haired friend.

“You guys know each other?” Yumi asked.

“Yes.” Aelita smiled. “Jeremy was the one who showed me around the school. After I ran into him at the entrance hall.”

“So THAT’S where you were all afternoon,” Ulrich exclaimed. “I was wondering where you went and why you came back as flustered as you did.”

Jeremy turned red as he muttered something unintelligible.

“Well well, Einstein. I knew there was something suspicious going on when you came back to the dorms all blus-“

“ODD!” Jeremy exclaimed. He set his laptop and bag down on the table. “I’m going to get my dinner.” He glared at the svelte prince as he stood up. “Behave!”

The flustered boy swiftly stood as he walked up to the counter, leaving behind an amused Yumi, Ulrich and Odd and a very confused Aelita.

“Where’s Jeremy from?” Aelita asked, finally when studying the faces of her three new friends didn’t help her figure out what just happened. She wanted to ask but given Jeremy’s embarrassment, figured it was better left ignored.

“He’s Crown Prince of France,” Ulrich responded easily.

Aelita looked between the group. They all seemed to know each other so well. “How did you all meet?” she asked.

“Well, Jeremy I’ve known since we were kids. We have an adjacent dorm at Kadic too so we’ve known each other almost our whole lives. He was my first friend.” Ulrich answered.

“And the rest of you?”

“I met Odd when he was assigned my roommate,” Ulrich answered. “And man, he was so annoying. Wouldn’t stop talking and following me!”

“Ha!” Odd replied. “Well you got used to me didn’t you, good buddy? Now you wouldn’t know what to do without me.”

“Whatever you say,” Ulrich said sarcastically. An amused smile told Aelita he was joking.

“What about you, Yumi?” Aelita asked.

“I met Ulrich in our Pencak Silat class,” Yumi replied. “We were the only ones who signed up in the first few weeks. The others chose different sports to train in. We sparred together and um…”

Yumi and Ulrich suddenly both blushed. Aelita grinned, realizing the situation between the two.

“Anyway,” Yumi cleared her throat, “We sparred and didn’t really talk then but Ulrich came back to get his ass kicked the next day-“

“We agreed it was a tie!”

“And we became friends. He introduced me to Odd and Jeremy,” Yumi finished.

“Wow,” Aelita said in awe, just as Jeremy came back. “So, you guys have been friends for a long time then.” Her voice was almost wistful. For a second, she wondered if she was imposing on the group but Jeremy was quick to get rid of those thoughts.

“Not entirely,” he said comfortingly, easily reading the direction of her train of thought. “Ulrich must have told you but only the two of us have been friends since we were little but even then, we didn’t see each other often enough to know the other well until Kadic. The rest of us only became friends a few years ago. Now we have a new friend. You, Aelita.”

Aelita looked surprised but hopeful as she looked at the group’s smiling faces before turning back to Jeremy. His eyes shone almost as hopefully as hers.

“You really mean it?”

Before Jeremy had a chance to answer though a loud high-pitched voice reached Aelita’s ears. “ULRICH DEAR!”

Said boy groaned, slouching down further into his seat as if willing himself to disappear. Aelita’s face was marred with confusion as a familiar girl with dark hair and a glamorous appearance approached the table. Aelita soon realized she was the girl who pulled out her name from the lottery barrel.

“Ulrich Dear, where have you been! I haven’t seen you all day.”

“Gee… wonder why, Sissi,” Ulrich muttered sarcastically.

Aelita realized this was the famed principal’s daughter right as the girl turned to the rest of the table’s occupants.

“Jeremy,” Sissi acknowledged the boy genius.

“Sissi,” Jeremy responded flatly.

Sissi then looked at Aelita taken aback by the new presence. Sissi seemed to scan her almost, taking in the girl’s appearance and meek body language.

“Oh, you!” Sissi looked at Aelita. “Aren’t you that new student? Pebbles or whatever?”

“Aelita Stones…” Aelita replied with a frown. Sissi was turning out to be ruder than she expected. The paparazzi’s poster child. Sissi turned back to Ulrich, wrinkling her nose disdainfully.

“Really Ulrich? First Yumi and Odd and now you’re choosing to spend time with the rabble?”

“Sissi!” Ulrich hissed angrily.

“I thought by refusing to spend time with _you_ , Ulrich already refused to spend time with rabble.” Yumi retorted flippantly. The Asian girl casually took a sip of her juice as the other dark-haired girl spluttered at the insult.

“Commoners aren’t allowed in Kadic for a reason!” Sissi fired back and Aelita suddenly shrunk in her seat, unintentionally feeling the sting of Sissi’s words.

“If that were the case you wouldn’t be here either, Sissi,” Jeremy said, voice hard. It was a low blow and he knew it but since the moment he met Aelita, he had felt strangely protective towards her. It was as if his emotions had gone out of his control and knew better what to do. Jeremy would be damned if he allowed Sissi to let Aelita feel any less than that she belonged.

“Excuse Me!?” Sissi glowered.

“Oh, come off it Sissi,” Odd grinned up at the annoyed girl. “Everyone knows the crown for your head is as fake as the tiger claws for nails you wear all the time!”

Sissi gave an angry squawk before turning around and stomping off. Aelita was somewhat surprised at how riled up the principal’s daughter had gotten by that simple statement but before she could dwell on it, her newfound friends turned towards her.

“Are you ok, Aelita?” Jeremy asked, concerned.

“Don’t pay any mind to Sissi,” Yumi added. “She likes to boss people around cuz she’s the Principal’s daughter and in line for the Lyoko throne but she’s just a student like the rest of us until we graduate.”

“What did you mean her crown is fake, Odd?” Aelita asked, not yet sure how she should answer Jeremy. She would be lying if she said Sissi’s words hadn’t deepened the insecurities of being an outsider to this very new world.

“Oh! Sissi isn’t a royal,” Odd responded easily. “She belongs to an esteemed family but the original princess of Lyoko was killed with the King and Queen years ago. Sissi wouldn’t have been in line at all if she were alive”

“How do you know?” Aelita asked. She didn’t remember learning much about the Princess of Lyoko growing up and certainly nothing about the Delmas’ connection to the royal family.

“They’re my distant family. The Lyokian Princess would have been somewhat like a cousin if she were alive.” Odd explained as if it were no big deal. It was clear he didn’t want to talk about it more because he changed the topic. “But anyway, Sissi isn’t royal by blood. Jeremy and Ulrich know more about why she’s in line for the throne though.”

Aelita turned to the blonde and brunette sitting beside and across from her. Ulrich groaned.

“Unfortunately, Jeremy and I had a third playmate growing up. Mostly me though. I’m just that unlucky.”

“Sissi’s family was related to Lyoko’s foreign relations,” Jeremy explained after he’d swallowed his bite of food. “Ulrich and I often played with her when we were growing up. Lord XANA, the previous King and Queen’s senior advisor, made Sissi his successor. He wasn’t able to be crowned himself but a ruler did need to be chosen and the Lyoko Princess was an only child, as were her parents. For some reason, Lord XANA chose Sissi over a bunch of other eligible families. Otherwise she might have only been here near the same level as you.”

Aelita blinked, taking in all this information slowly. The history of the Kingdom seemed unreal. All she had learnt growing up was that Lyoko’s rulers had perished back when she was only a baby and the next family in line for the throne had always been the Delmas’. She shook her head.

“I still would be a commoner and Sissi the daughter of a politician,” Aelita pointed out.

Yumi snorted. “And why should that matter? I think you’ll realize Aelita, that this charm academy business isn’t really about bossing people around.”

“But-“

“No buts.” Yumi’s voice was firm. “Ruling over people isn’t easy. It’s not all fun and games. It’s a lot of responsibility. You actually have to think of the consequences of your decisions. Governing the people is in their interest. The media paints us as a bunch of rich kids with no responsibility but you’ll find that most of us are actually pretty down-to-Earth. The weight of the burden isn’t all that easy outside these four walls of Kadic.”

Aelita nodded in understanding right as Odd left out a cackle. “It honestly makes you wonder why Sissi was chosen to rule at all. That girl’s as brainless as a headless chicken.”

Aelita looked around at the royals surrounding her. Yumi’s explanation did make sense. “You really think of me as a friend?” She confirmed again. Sissi had interrupted the first time and Aelita still felt she needed to ask.

“Of course, Aelita!”

“It’d be nice to have another girl to deal with these bozos with.”

“You fit right in.”

Seeing how welcoming these people were being, Aelita almost felt a desire to cry. She had never had friends before, not properly. She had been a loner for her school years and she was significantly older than all the girls at the orphanage. Seeing a group of people welcoming her so kindly was a first and Aelita felt the years of self-doubt and loneliness melt away. She replied with a smile, her cheeks almost bursting. Her new friends just cheered. They all knew this would be the start of an incredible friendship.

The pink haired girl turned to Jeremy who had yet to say something.

“You’ll see, Aelita,” the boy promised, shyly taking her hand. “Everything will fit right into place.

* * *

Except it didn’t. At least… not without some work. Three weeks into the semester it quickly became clear that Aelita was far behind her other classmates.

Theoretical subjects she aced because she had been studying them at her school back before joining Kadic. The material had been somewhat outdated at her old school but it took no time for Aelita to catch up and even rival Jeremy in certain subjects.

Unfortunately, when it came to the more ‘nobility oriented’ subjects she was wildly out of her element. She was also extremely clueless which had led to a few embarrassing situations.

In her first week, Sissi had directed Aelita towards the boys’ showers, telling her there was no line there. Aelita had thanked her lucky stars Ulrich and Odd were there brushing their teeth and had quickly sent her back. They had played a major prank on Sissi after that but Aelita still felt embarrassed thinking back to the incident, reprimanding herself for not knowing better. Aelita had lost her way and had ended up mixing up instructions more than a few times during classes as well and that only added to her growing self-esteem issues.

It didn’t help that Lord XANA seemed to have it out for her. He was the teacher of the Political Strategy class and even supervised a number of other classes. As a royal advisor to the former King and Queen, he had a duty to supervise the education especially since his selected candidate for the throne was studying in her final year. Since the first day, he had seen Aelita and had gone out of his way to reprimand her in front of the whole class. Strict teachers weren’t an oddity but while other teachers seemed to be going easy on Aelita and granting her an adjustment period, Lord XANA seemed to be out to make Aelita’s life more difficult, even egging Sissi’s bullying behavior in certain subtle instances.

The weathered teacher had even pulled Aelita aside and had given her what appeared to be almost a threatening suggestion to quit. It had taken a week for the group to get Aelita out of her funk when that had happened. Sissi had also let it slip that the royal advisor had also suggested the mild Principal of Kadic Academy expel the pink haired girl due to her lack of progress in political subjects.

The group was hanging out in Odd and Ulrich’s dorm room one day when Odd brought it up. “It's really strange how XANA seems to be picking on Aelita, isn’t it? Am I the only one who noticed?”

“Are you kidding me?” Ulrich responded. “I’d be surprised if there’s someone who _hasn’t_ noticed yet.”

Yumi frowned. “Wasn’t he supposedly a lottery student too?” the Japanese princess asked. She remembered reading something during one of her research sprees on Lyoko before attending Kadic.

“He was.” Ulrich answered. “King Waldo chose him as his advisor a few years after he graduated but he was definitely a lottery student.”

Odd gaped. “Ulrich? How do YOU know this,” he said, taking a jab at the brunette’s intelligence and less than stellar grades.

Ulrich rolled his eyes. “I'm not completely clueless you know. I know enough foreign relations of my neighboring countries to get by at least.”

“In any case it's too bad XANA keeps trying to get Aelita expelled though. Delmas isn’t that cruel but eventually Sissi and XANA would wear him down. Especially since XANA is the one who got Sissi in line for the throne.” It was silent for a moment before Yumi spoke again, her voice filled with anger. “I bet he wouldn't dare do that if she were a royal like us.”

Ulrich sighed. Yumi was right. It was a good thing Aelita and Jeremy weren’t here to hear the discussion. Aelita was incredibly sensitive about her status as a commoner among royals and Jeremy easily got angry at anything that upset Aelita or was said against her. The boy had it bad and it was quite amusing on most occasions since he was so shy. This was not one of them.

“Yeah” Ulrich agreed with the Japanese princess. “But she isn't a princess, Yumi. And there isn't exactly a way to make her one either,” He pointed out.

Odd who had been silent for a while suddenly perked up. His face displayed pure innocence but his eyes glinted with his true intent. “Isn't there?” The Italian prince grinned.

Yumi and Ulrich looked confused right as Jeremy entered the room. Odd's grin widened.

“Oh Jeremy!” Odd called, his tone sing-song. “We were just discussing how XANA seems to be after Aelita because she's not a royal like us. And Ulrich said there's no way for us to make her a princess but I think differently.”

Jeremy, who had no context to the prior discussion, looked confused for a moment. When he finally caught up, he looked to Odd, a question already on his lips. “How-“

Odd didn’t wait for him to finish. “Anyway Einstein? When you popping the question? A royal wedding sounds nice.”

Jeremy blushed crimson “ODD!” The blonde growled in embarrassment. Ulrich and Odd had made it their pastime to tease Jeremy about his feelings since the very first day when he showed her around. At the moment, the Italian prince was rolling on the floor laughing while Yumi and Ulrich also chuckled. It was no secret how Jeremy felt about Aelita and vice versa and each opportunity with to tease the shy couple was too good to pass up. 

Aelita’s arrival quickly boosted the opportunity further.

Odd looked positively evil to Jeremy as he loudly greeted the pink haired girl with an obnoxious “Hello Princess!”

Aelita looked surprised. She looked first at Odd then Yumi and then herself. Realizing Odd had addressed her she said, “Princess? Me? I’m not a princess, Odd?”

Odd only grinned. “No but I bet soon you will be.” The boy with the spiked hair looked at Jeremy all too pointedly.

Aelita seemed to not pick up on it, or if she did, she didn’t say anything to show it.

“Don’t be silly, Odd,” She said as she went to sit down next to Jeremy who was still extremely red from his face to the tips of his ears. Yumi and Ulrich were clearly trying very hard not to explode with laughter, their Cheshire grins matching Odd’s.

They looked like they were about to jump in on the joke but Odd quickly seeing Jeremy wouldn’t remain merciful much longer quickly muttered “Nevermind, I’m gonna go feed Kiwi.”

The boy with the purple streaked hair quickly went and did as he said. His smuggled dog had come as an extreme shock to Aelita but it seemed to be an open secret. Yumi had told her practically everyone in the school knew Kiwi belonged to Odd and looked the other way. Mainly because Kiwi was extremely friendly and brought a lot of antics whenever anyone had a chance to see Odd try to distract a suspicious teacher from the origins of the ‘stray’ mutt that was often seen around the campus.

The ‘Princess’ nickname stuck much to Jeremy’s half-hearted annoyance. Secretly, the idea of marrying Aelita was one he dreamed off a lot too. He’d never admit it but the image of sweeping her off her feet grew more and more constant in his dreams even though his insecurities told him she’d never feel the same way.

He would never admit it but he was glad Odd had stuck that nickname for Aelita even though she didn’t express whether she knew exactly how it came about. Along with the Princess “Mrs. Einstein” was also a popular fixture as a nickname even outside their group especially with Aelita becoming increasingly more competitive with Jeremy in their theoretical lessons. Jeremy loved the challenge although Sissi’s ‘friend’, the son of a duke, Herve was less than pleased because he no longer claimed the 2nd spot in class rankings. Aelita too, loved seeing her grades and her friends’ pride when she got a test and her score was among the top three.

Unfortunately, there still remained the matter with practical lessons. After a close call with Delmas issuing Aelita a warning for what was very obviously an accident, the royal teens knew they had to come up with something. Delmas had no doubt been pressured by XANA again and Sissi had no doubt heard and had given her two unpleasant cents too prompting her father to take more serious action.

The girl had never stopped insulting Aelita but Aelita had quickly learnt to brush them off after realizing it wasn’t just her but everyone besides Ulrich who was on the receiving end of those insults. However, for Aelita, some of the jabs felt more personal than others and the ones about not belonging definitely fed into her insecurities.

The evening Aelita had been called to the Principal’s office, she barely ate any dinner. She had found her first family here and Delmas’ warning about having to leave only upset her. Jeremy had quickly noticed and slid his strawberry shortcake across to her tray. Odd had looked almost offended at not being the recipient of offered food but a glare from Jeremy shut him up.

Aelita had looked at the concerned blonde gratefully. Jeremy was always doing things like this. He normally saved his croissant for her at breakfast because he knew how much she liked them with her hot chocolate. Now he was offering his dessert because he knew Aelita liked sweets and would willingly eat them even if she wasn’t feeling up to the steak and mashed potatoes Rosa had prepared.

“I have a plan,” Jeremy announced, once he was satisfied Aelita was actually eating the treat he had given her.

“About what?” Yumi raised an eyebrow.

“How we keep XANA from framing Aelita and getting Delmas to expel her.” Jeremy looked at the others flatly as if the answer had been obvious.

“Whatcha got for us Einstein?” Odd asked, mouth full. He was on his second helping of mashed potatoes, having charmed Rosa to give him more per usual.

“I’ve been observing Lord XANA’s methods,” Jeremy explained. “Normally he has someone on his side, usually Sissi, when something goes wrong. A lot of the time Aelita isn’t even near whatever accident occurs. I propose… that we start taking the blame.”

The others blinked.

“How do you want us to do that Jeremy?” Ulrich asked, pointing at the boy with his fork. “Lord XANA can simply deny it and say he saw Aelita do it or whatever.”

Jeremy grinned. “True, but he can’t deny it if others see us create the chaos, can he?”

The group still looked confused and Jeremy sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“Normally when Lord XANA ends up blaming the chaos in class on Aelita, no one denies it because no one else has done it. It’s either Sissi or Nikolas and Herve. We start taking the blame for the things that happen, then our classmates will start to believe it too. Especially if it’s Odd and you, Ulrich. If you start acting out a little bit in class regularly then it’ll be easier still.”

Ulrich held up a hand to stop Jeremy’s rambling. “Are you asking us to get in trouble?” he asked incredulously.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Jeremy answered. Aelita looked horrified.

“No! You can’t do that.”

“Aelita, we all have been at Kadic for years,” he replied looking apologetic when she winced at the reminder. “They won’t expel us in our last year of training and we all have reasonable enough grades. But for lottery winners… they expect them to drop out and especially in the last year when catching up is even harder.”

Aelita looked conflicted. She fidgeted once more, playing with her food again, thinking it over as the others were. Ulrich looked dubious too, his parents already disappointed with his subpar grades throughout his years at Kadic. The believed that if he didn’t excel it meat he wasn’t practically fit to rule.

“Ok.” Yumi was first to answer. “But we can’t rely on that alone until the end of the year. It’s too far away.” She pointed out. “We can’t all risk our grades forever, Jeremy. We have an advantage but Odd and Ulrich are barely getting by as it is.” 

Jeremy nodded. “I know that. I have a plan for that as well. We’ll all have to tutor Aelita. I know we already help her in class and with homework. But this will be different. We’ll have to each take a subject and tutor her properly in it. The practical ones.”

Understanding dawned on the group’s faces as well as excitement.

“I can take Personal and Public Presentation along with Etiquette Class,” Yumi offered. The Japanese girl had been trained in poise and grace and the art of self-presentation and behavior even before the boys had. “I can teach her both Eastern and Western methods. Ulrich doesn’t like this class and Odd can’t stay still long enough to balance a book on his head… and no offense Jeremy but you’re not the most socially adept of us either.”

Jeremy sighed. Yumi was right. While he was alright when it came to his public persona, he wasn’t the best person to ask for advice regarding the general attitude and style to adopt when on diplomatic missions.

“I’ll teach her self-defense then.” Ulrich offered, relieved that they wouldn’t just be taking the blame but helping Aelita too. If she could manage to learn quick, hopefully his grades wouldn’t fall beyond help during the year. Besides, he liked his martial arts class and he was the fastest in his grade too.

Each student at Kadic was required to take basic self-defense in need of emergency given the students were all high profile and needed to be able to hold their own. While this self-defense included handling weaponry, it wasn’t a necessity and more of a hobby or extra credit. Odd, Yumi and Ulrich trained with weapons but Jeremy was hopeless. Jim, the Physical Education instructor, had attempted to get Jeremy interested in many a weapon but for Jeremy, his intellect served as his survival skills. The gym teacher had eventually given up and had trained Jeremy in basic escape maneuvers. Jeremy wasn’t exactly top of his class but running, hiding, climbing and shooting a gun was something he had managed to at least pass in.

It was uncontested that Ulrich teach Aelita Phys Ed since it was a class he had an A in. His only match was Yumi and even she fell behind sometimes due to Ulrich outmatching her in sheer determination. Aelita had tried out different weapons just like Jeremy had but none had felt right and Jim had decided to help her focus on basic survival skills before attempting to teach her weaponry. It was soon discovered that Aelita was agile and quick on her feet, almost flying when she wanted to be. Unfortunately, her technique needed work and Ulrich figured he could ask Yumi for help if they got to the point of helping Aelita with a weapon. Aelita was more interested in the long-range ones and Yumi knew the best about those. 

Jeremy looked pleased. “I was hoping you would say that,” he admitted. “Odd?”

The boy with the purple streaked spikey hair looked thoughtful before answering. “Charm class.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Not this again, Odd. Diplomatic Relations isn’t charm class.”

“Sure it is!” Odd said breezily. “You’re basically just sweet talking to people until they agree with you or stop being angry. Besides, I have the most practical experience in that.”

Yumi shook her head at Odd as if he was a hopeless case as she turned to Jeremy. “You have to admit he isn’t wrong there, Jeremy. Odd’s gotten himself in trouble every day we’ve been at Kadic and somehow managed to worm his way out of most detentions.”

“Alright,” Jeremy sighed. “But Odd. Remember, the goal is to keep Aelita OUT of trouble so don’t bring her on any of your practical experiences unless you want to give XANA more ammunition.”

“Aye Aye, Einstein,” Odd grinned. He turned to Aelita. “You’re in safe hands with me Princess. I’ll give you all the charm classes you need and then you can turn em on good ol’ Jeremy here so he can rate their effectiveness.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes but his cheeks turned an obvious soft pink at the idea of Aelita charming him. “Ok, that leaves Political Strategy for me. I think I can manage that pretty well.”

“Well duh!” Ulrich rolled his eyes. “You don’t have a 99 in that class for no reason, genius.”

“I think that’s all then,” Jeremy concluded. He turned to Aelita to ask if she was alright with the plan but before he could ask, Odd tutted.

“Uh uh uh, Jeremy. Not so fast.” Odd had his usual mischief in his eyes and Jeremy grew wary. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Jeremy’s brow furrowed. “No. I think that’s all the classes.”

“Oh, Einstein my poor friend. How could you forget the most important class? You really know nothing to woo the ladies.” The Italian prince mocked a woeful expression.

Jeremy blinked, bewildered.

“Dance Class!” Odd burst out finally. “Geez, Jeremy. I know you’re not the best at it but I didn’t think you’d forget it entirely.”

Yumi nodded. “He’s right, Jeremy. Someone needs to teach her to dance. So far Aelita’s record is almost as catastrophic as yours.” She pointed out. “No offense, Aelita.”

Aelita smiled. “None taken. I’ve never really had an occasion to dance with someone before.”

Jeremy frowned as he looked over the notes he was making about their plans. “Well we’re all already teaching a class. Who’s left to teach Aelita dance?” Jeremy asked.

“William?” Ulrich volunteered. His suggestion was dual purpose. One, to see Jeremy get riled up but deny jealousy, and two, to get rid of his own competition. William had long since been pursuing the Japanese princess and Ulrich hadn’t always enjoyed watching it. Yumi regularly rejected William’s advances but with their own relationship hanging between friend and friendlier, Ulrich couldn’t help the flare of insecurity and annoyance every time he was around.

Yumi shot down the idea at once. “No. Not William. I don’t trust him and anyway it’d be easier if it’s just us.” The dark-haired girl had been made uncomfortable by William’s pursuits before and she wasn’t quite sure if Aelita could handle it. The girl had a habit of undermining her value and Yumi wasn’t about to let anyone take advantage of her friend like that.

Jeremy looked relieved. So far during dance class, Aelita had normally been paired up with him, Odd or Ulrich. The few times she had had different partners hadn’t gone so well so he had managed to keep his jealousy down to a minimum.

“Why don’t we all teach dance class?” Odd suggested. “We’d get to have fun hanging out that way too.”

“What do you mean?” Aelita asked.

“Well, Ulrich, Yumi and I are significantly better at dance than you and Einstein, Princess,” Odd pointed out. “Of course, I’m the best so naturally I’d teach you. But Einstein has two left feet too and I think any future ladies he courts would appreciate him taking extra lessons with you.”

“Odd,” Jeremy muttered, realizing the set up occurring.

“No, he’s right, Jeremy.” Yumi voiced her support. “You need practice too. And you and Aelita are paired together most of the time in dance class anyway. You’d both get into less trouble this way.”

Jeremy found this a hard argument to refute. It was true. Odd normally had a different girl or the other he wanted to woo during dance class and Ulrich took the opportunity to pair up with Yumi whenever he could. This normally left Jeremy paired with Aelita and it was often both their fault if any mistakes were made in the routine. Not wanting Aelita to suffer because of his performance, Jeremy agreed.

“Ok. We’ll all be together for dance class practice.”

“How will we get the key to the ballroom?” Ulrich asked. Their dorm rooms weren’t spacious enough for proper practices and having extra dance lessons in the lawn wasn’t the most appealing idea with the entire school as an audience.

Jeremy thought about it for a moment. “Odd is class representative. He and I can go ask Principal Delmas. I can say I want the extra practice. That way Lord XANA can’t intervene and forbid it if he thinks just Aelita is trying to get better.”

“This is all so exciting,” Aelita smiled at her friends. “Thank you all for working so hard to come up with ways to help me. You’re giving up your free time when you don’t have to.”

“It’s nothing Aelita,” Yumi smiled. She reached for the younger girl’s hand. “It’s what friends do.”

Ulrich nodded with his regular smirk, fully in agreement.

“Royal Bodyguards and Tutors as the Princess commands.” Odd teased. It had become a joke, her nickname. She was the only one of them not a royal and while the original intent had been to tease Jeremy, it now served as an ironic nickname as well since Aelita was the only one of them who didn’t hold the title.

Aelita turned to Jeremy, then surprised everyone by kissing him on the cheek, leaving the boy with a burning blush. “What was that for?” Jeremy spluttered, trying hard to catch his breath and calm his heart.

“You’re the one who came up with the idea of how to help me, even though it harms your records in the final year.”

“It’s nothing,” Jeremy whispered, still blushing as she turned to the others who were looking at her in encouragement.

Behind them, Aelita could see Sissi glowering at their table and in her heart, she felt an anger burn towards her and Lord XANA as well. She was still nervous but Aelita had a reason to fight, seeing the faces of her found family. She wanted to stay at Kadic and reach a good position in life so she could stay with her friends. She _deserved_ to stay and even if people like XANA and Sissi would deny it, Aelita knew she had to try.

Aelita set her jaw, a determined gleam in her emerald eyes. “Let’s do this.”


	2. Chapter 2

The teens plan was set into motion and soon, it was quite common for Ulrich, Odd, Yumi and Jeremy to take the blame for any mishaps that occurred in class. Any chaos caused was followed by loud demonstrative apologies of “Oh I’m so sorry to interrupt the class Lord XANA”, “You aren’t hurt, are you Aelita? Sorry you got caught in the middle.” It was comical to see the senior teacher’s face turn red with rage when it soon became obvious framing Aelita was becoming more and more difficult. Principal Delmas was bewildered when Jeremy and Yumi became more frequent to his office for misconduct but without evidence, he had no choice but to reprimand them the same as the others.

The others anticipated a change in XANA’s strategy which soon came as expected. The royal advisor attempted to frame the entire group, including Aelita, but the young royals were ready. Soon it was only one of them at a time receiving detention. XANA had to admit defeat and eventually stopped attempting to get Sissi, Herve and Nikolas to cause trouble entirely. The group was resourceful and it ended up being the troublesome trio who ended up in detention more than them wherever possible. This wasn’t hard as the trio weren’t exactly inconspicuous and exposing them was quite easy especially when no one in class liked them to begin with.

With Lord XANA having to slow down his attacks due to the blatant sabotage, the teens could relax and soon Aelita was being tutored at different times by each of her friends. Yumi slowly walked the girl through walking straight, talking properly and eating elegantly with the numerous utensils present for the students’ disposal in the dining hall. Yumi even managed to get Jeremy and Ulrich to practice although Odd remained a lost cause, content on munching his meals with the one fork, spoon and knife.

Yumi had the advantage of being Aelita’s roommate so even in their down time, she’d correct the younger girl subtly and taught her how to coordinate her clothes and appearance better. While Aelita had grown up knowing how to sew and mend clothes, their coordination was less of a priority and the two girls spent many a night with giggling with impromptu fashion shows using clothes from Yumi’s closet. Aelita was given her freedom to pick anything from the non-black pieces of clothing as Yumi rarely wore those anyway.

Aelita was slower in picking up self-defense. While her running and climbing rate improved within weeks, she wasn’t as quick to pick up the basic martial art maneuvers Ulrich attempted to teach her. Often when Aelita was exhausted and dejected, the older boy would sit with her in silence and somehow, Aelita knew how she felt about martial arts was how Ulrich felt about other subjects. Aelita’s progress was slow but she grew to recognize Ulrich’s small grins when she did something right and his gentle “well done” when he knew she was tired but had done her best.

“You’re nothing like your father, Ulrich,” Aelita told him one day. The whole group had witnessed many a phone call between the king and his son and knew it was something Ulrich hated and feared because he tended to snap in the same way when he was upset. Ulrich didn’t respond but the way the corner of his mouth twitched and his body relaxed was enough for her to recognize the comment meant more to the boy than he would ever want to let on.

Odd’s classes were some of the most fun Aelita ever had. The svelte boy had quickly made it clear that his teaching method would be as unconventional as possible. This had its merits and demerits. It certainly got Aelita to laugh every time Odd used his time ‘tutoring’ her to ‘charm’ another girl to ask her out and be promptly rejected if the victim was someone aware of Odd’s past record. However, despite his carefree attitude, Odd was serious when he wanted to be and his lessons helped improve Aelita’s confidence by a large margin.

The purple-clad boy was quite adept at breaking down what got people to tick. Growing up with a bunch of older sisters had made him wiser to how to irritate them and soon he was passing on the tricks of trade to Aelita, teaching her how to recognize what got the people around them to tick and how to soothe it to your own advantage. The pink-haired girl was grateful when she realized she could easily talk to people around her class without being intimidated anymore and the day Aelita clapped back at Sissi, no one laughed louder and was prouder than Odd – although the rest of the group were a close second.

Aelita enjoyed the time she spent with Jeremy the most. The class he taught was dull and boring but Jeremy initially went slow for her benefit. It soon became apparent though, that when it wasn’t Lord XANA teaching, strategy wasn’t a big struggle for Aelita either. Unlike Jeremy, she tended to have a riskier approach to the practice problems presented in class yet theoretically they also yielded greater reward. It was often Aelita and Jeremy’s class would derail into discussion on political history and theory and often Aelita found herself educating her blonde companion on quite a few issues faced by the common folk of the kingdom that he wasn’t even aware of. The royal teen was well read, but even he couldn’t counter the experience Aelita had living as a commoner and her broader approach ended up teaching him as much as he ended up teaching her. Both Aelita’s grades and Jeremy’s perspective improved as a result. The long hours spent together discussing everything and nothing brought the two closer together in both heart and mind and they both found each other falling harder and faster as the weeks went on.

Despite how much fun Aelita had bonding with her friends individually, it was without a doubt that her favorite class was dance class. The entire group came together at least once a week after being granted permission to use the ballroom. Principal Delmas had offered up the key immediately seeing his prize student, Jeremy Belpois, wanted to practice.

The greying man had even said himself, “If possible, please do involve Miss Stones in your lessons as well. I think she might benefit from the extra practice, same as you Mr. Belpois. Mr. Della Robbia, I hope you instruct them well.”

With permission granted so blatantly, Lord XANA’s interference was even less likely. Jim, who was also the dance teacher, had offered his assistance to the group once informed of what they were planning but they decidedly refused help unless necessary. Nonetheless, it wasn’t uncommon to catch the Phys Ed and Dance Instructor stop by and advise the young nobles.

Dance class normally started with them revising the lessons in their previous class before moving on to something either Jeremy or Aelita or both were less practiced in. Yumi paired up with Jeremy and Ulrich with Aelita as Odd became the conductor for the first fifteen minutes. The pairs would dance slowly as Jeremy and Aelita familiarized themselves with the steps before Yumi and Ulrich backed away and Jeremy and Aelita paired up to repeat the steps as much times as necessary. The blushing got better after a week but the close proximity between Aelita and Jeremy still had them both too shy to meet each other’s eyes sometimes. Eventually, Aelita grew out of it, even teasing Jeremy but the blonde remained endearingly awkward as always. Odd took great pleasure embarrassing Jeremy even further.

“Einstein, you gotta hold the lady closer or else you’ll drop her when you go into the dip! Even Ulrich and Yumi with their chasm of space between them hold each other closer than that while dancing. Move closer, lovebirds.”

“Jeremy, stop hiding the fact you’re in love with Aelita and look at her! This is a Waltz! Not Disco! I need to FEEL the chemistry.”

Suffice to say, it was quite entertaining for Odd to get Jeremy and Aelita as close as possible, even if it wasn’t necessary. It only became more entertaining when Ulrich and Yumi joined in but when Aelita actively started participating, playfully teasing the boy in front of her, herself?

“Come on, Jeremy. I don’t bite,” She’d said once, bringing her face close enough that their noses touched so she could see Jeremy’s panicked blue eyes. The boy found all the air leave his lungs and his heart stuttered dangerously when Aelita only shifted his arms around her so they were even closer. The group was convinced Jeremy’s face would stay stained tomato red for his whole life.

Jeremy, despite his shy embarrassment, couldn’t deny he loved having Aelita so close to him. She always looked beautiful as most of the time Yumi insisted Aelita wear a ballgown of some sort for practice. He was afraid she’d hear his heart threaten to beat out of his chest because they stood so close and he was afraid more often than not that he’d end up dropping her or hurting her while dancing. He was clumsy and uncoordinated and while the lessons helped, he still didn’t trust himself. Seeing Aelita smile at him brightly and laugh in pure joy as they tried to practice spins was the highlight of his days. When they ended up toppling over, even if it was his fault, it eased the guilt he felt about his clumsiness. He knew he never felt happier then when she was by his side. He could only ever hope she felt the same and these moments holding her close wouldn’t end one day.

Aelita, for her part, enjoyed these lessons the most because she laughed the most during them. Being so close to Jeremy made her feel happy as it was. Her cheeks would stain as red as his and her heart would flutter with how tenderly he held on to her. She quickly realized she felt safest and the most at home when enveloped in his arms and even though she knew Jeremy doubted himself a lot, her trust in him never wavered.

Between the times they fell over each other due to clumsiness, stepping on each other’s feet and the bumps and bruises, Aelita only ever felt her heart growing lighter as it fell further in love with the kind boy who was her first friend. With Odd, Ulrich and Yumi goofing off with them it made her feel even happier especially since most lessons ended with them turning on some upbeat song by the Subdigitals and dancing until they all collapsed on the floor. In the beginning they had to convince an awkward Jeremy to let loose but eventually even he gave in and it became a tradition that only put a perfect end to the time Aelita spent with her friends. It was also the reason dance class ended up lasting longer than each of the other classes.

While it wasn’t apparent at once, Jeremy and Aelita both slowly grew out of their clumsiness and Jim, who knew how much the two practiced regularly, loudly declared their progress with pride much to an often-supervising Lord XANA’s distaste. It wasn’t just Jim who noticed but the entire class who saw how tenderly Jeremy held Aelita and how much Aelita trusted Jeremy in their demonstrations. Even if they weren’t the most skilled dancers of their class, the emotions behind their steps were unpalpable. Jim even once declared that it seemed no other couple had the same level of trust in each other the way Jeremy and Aelita did with each other and nobody could contest this. When Jeremy and Aelita were together, despite the mistakes they made, they were a single unit and it was breathtaking if only to see the love they shared. They became lost in each other once they started to move to the melodies and their audience disappeared completely.

Odd was quick to demand payment from each of his classmates he had bet regarding the couple even as new bets were set. It was obvious how much the two cared for each other and it was evident Jeremy would eventually muster the courage to ask Aelita to come home to France with him as a Royal Advisor in his court. The question was no longer of an ‘if’ but a ‘when’. Even further bets were placed regarding when either Jeremy or Aelita would finally confess their feelings. Sometimes the students were confused because to the onlooker it seemed they were already a couple. They were often seen holding hands, hugging and cuddled up close in their downtime so it was all the more confusing why they weren’t yet officially an item. The couple in question were oblivious to these bets, however, and only enjoyed their victory in overcoming their previous struggles in dance and getting to spend time closer together. As thanks for the immense help, Aelita and Jeremy got Yumi and Ulrich presents and both generously offered Odd their desserts for a week.

It seemed they would succeed and life seemed to be going well. The dance lessons unlocked in Aelita a new appreciation for music she hadn’t realized she had before and it soon found her nervously going through the Academy’s music room. The sheer number of instruments were nerve wracking but Aelita quickly found herself drawn to the grand Piano in the corner of the room. She hadn’t been sure how to play but that became an easy fix as soon enough, the rest of her friends began to join her in the music room to spend their free time together.

“I didn’t know you could play,” Aelita said to a blushing Jeremy one day as she positioned her hands above his to practice with him. He and Ulrich knew the most about the piano. Yumi had been trained in classical Japanese instruments and Odd had only ever had a fondness for Rock and Disco growing up.

“I only know the basics. My mother wanted me to learn. Said it was important for a young royal to be well versed in the arts. I’m not the most adept at painting so…” Jeremy shrugged.

“You forgot the part where Aunt Beatrice said it helps to woo the ladies,” Ulrich teased.

Jeremy turned a deeper shade of crimson but didn’t respond. Aelita only grinned cheekily as she turned to Jeremy. She gave the flustered boy a quick kiss on the cheek before smirking, “Consider me wooed”.

Jeremy toppled off the bench in shock and Ulrich fell off his chair laughing. After that Jeremy’s hands shook too much and Ulrich had to take over her piano lessons for the day.

It was fast apparent though, that Aelita had a natural talent when it came to music, more than any of her friends. Jeremy and Ulrich could only help her to a certain degree which she surpassed within weeks and soon, Aelita was playing like a pro, learning beyond what skills the boys had taught her and amazing her friends with her incredible tunes. There was one melody in particular though, that Aelita always played. She didn’t know where it came from and the others had never heard it either but it came naturally as her fingers flew swiftly across the black and white keys.

“It’s a lovely song,” Yumi told her one day. “Did you learn it from somewhere?”

“No…” Aelita frowned as she thought hard. “I just feel it. Like a memory.”

Where that memory could be from, no one knew. The orphanage had never had a piano and neither had Aelita ever heard such a song but it didn’t matter. It was an enjoyable piece though and eventually they all conceded that Aelita may have simply come up with the tune herself or had heard it on some classical track the headmistress at the orphanage loved to play.

Techno also became a new favorite of Aelita’s. The mixing board in the music room was unused, mostly because the control board was complicated and a struggle for most to figure out. Royal students were trained more in classical arts than in modern music however that dichotomy meant little to Aelita who learnt how to mix tracks faster than she did how to play the piano. It became even easier once Jeremy helped her rearrange the settings on the board one afternoon. The music room became a common hangout for most of Aelita’s classmates after that.

Aelita’s final hidden talent was revealed after the pink-haired girl had gone looking for Jeremy one afternoon. She had found him hidden away in the computer lab as usual and had sat next to him as he coded programs for his new robot for an upcoming competition. Jeremy had smiled seeing her join him and Aelita had been readily intrigued as Jeremy started babbling excitedly about the processes he was perfecting for his robot, Kiwi 2.0, based on Odd’s stowaway dog. After a few minutes though, he stopped, looking embarrassed.

“Sorry… I got excited. I didn’t mean to go on a tangent,” He apologized. Jeremy knew his tech speak tended to confuse his friends and they rarely appreciated listening to it too. He assumed even Aelita, despite her stellar understanding of the sciences, wouldn’t be interested.

Aelita shook her head, smiling almost as if she thought Jeremy was silly. “The program sounds amazing, Jeremy,” She complimented. “But what if you adjusted the coding so that the input would go directly the robot’s legs. You wouldn’t have to worry about the wire connections fraying that way and movement would be faster.”

Jeremy looked at the code Aelita seemed to pointing towards. He wasn’t sure whether he was more surprised that she had been listening to him in the first place or that she had picked out the problem in his code without having extensive knowledge of it to begin with.

“Aelita, you know computer coding?” He asked. The girl looked down shyly.

“Only a little. The CPU at the orphanage was quite old and we couldn’t replace it. I sometimes messed around with the coding to get it to run faster.”

Jeremy’s resulting beam lit up the whole room and Aelita felt her smile grow just as wide as her heart beat faster.

“You’re incredible!” Jeremy exclaimed, grabbing Aelita’s hands and jumping up from his seat. The duo promptly blushed.

“The technology here is far more advanced than anything I had to work with at home though,” Aelita said as Jeremy sat back down. He hadn’t let go of her hands just yet and Aelita could feel her grip tightening just slightly, not wanting him to either. “I still haven’t figured out a lot of it yet.”

Jeremy smiled, “How about we work together?” He suggested. “The Robot Tournament isn’t for another few weeks.”

All in all, things seemed to be looking up for the group. Months flew by and before long, the winter holidays finally arrived. Aelita spent her winter break with Jeremy in France after his parents had invited her to come stay with them. They had heard their son’s lovelorn sighs as he had spoken to them over the phone and knew, perhaps even before he did, how deeply he had fallen. Michel and Bea Belpois were curious and greatly wanted to meet this Aelita who had easily captured their only son’s heart. The idea of visiting a Kingdom other than Lyoko was enthralling to Aelita who had never even visited another city before and she readily accepted the invite.

Ulrich and Odd were due to come visit halfway through winter break. Ulrich wasn’t too keen on spending longer than was necessary in the presence of his father and Odd felt the same about his sisters. Yumi would be joining the group later, choosing to spend a longer time at home with her family. The group was due to return to Lyoko together and it was the happiest holiday Aelita had ever known.

Jeremy’s family had been lovely and his Kingdom beautiful. The time the two spent together had only made the pink-haired girl fall harder for the French Prince and it seemed the feeling was mutual and evident to everyone in the kingdom besides the two in question.

“Your kingdom is beautiful, Jeremy,” Aelita had commented on one of their walks through one of the many scenic gardens. It was snowing softly and the atmosphere felt magical.

“You should see it in the Spring,” Jeremy smiled back, happy to see her so enthralled. He stopped to pick a snowdrop and handed it to her hoping the cold would mask his blush. He wondered if she knew what it symbolized. 

“I hope I can one day.” She twirled the flower thoughtfully between her gloved fingers before looking up at Jeremy with a matching expression.

Her cheeks were flushed, whether from the cold or something else, Jeremy wasn’t sure. But in that moment, she looked so angelic and Jeremy blurted out before he could stop himself, “Maybe you should come again for longer when it’s warmer once we graduate!”

He caught the _‘Please come back with me and stay here forever’_ before it jumped from his lips. He had been thinking it far too often. The idea of parting from her was difficult to imagine already and they were far yet from graduating but saying the words only seemed too easy but far too soon especially since Jeremy hadn’t even mustered the courage to confess his real feelings yet. He had a feeling Aelita knew though and that was a nice comfort. Aelita only smiled, the same desires pooling in her heart.

Ulrich and Odd had arrived and the four friends had plenty of fun playing together in the snow. Yumi had arrived the Eve before New Years and the reunited group had greatly enjoyed the Belpois’ Annual New Years Ball. Jeremy and Aelita had gotten to showcase their improved dancing as it was a tradition for the French Royal family to open the event. Jeremy had always opted out of the tradition in the previous years, leaving the opening to just his parents. It had come as quite a pleasant surprise to his family when he offered to participate after asking Aelita to be his partner although his parents had been expecting it after seeing how Jeremy behaved around Aelita.

He had forgotten to mention some of the background details to her though. The pink-haired girl had been thrilled when Jeremy had asked her to be his partner. It was only later that Ulrich explained the importance of the tradition to her. The Belpois only ever shared the first dance with someone they were close to and had intentions to introduce to the court as their partner. Aelita had blushed a stark red at that. She had only blushed harder when the statement was confirmed when Jeremy’s mother confirmed it to her and even offered to loan Aelita one of her dresses from her earliest years while courting Jeremy’s father.

Aelita’s shock at the importance of the event and its notion didn’t diminish her feelings however. It only made them grow. After the first dance, Jeremy had offered to lead Aelita off the dance floor, seeing she was quite overwhelmed by the audience’s gaze. She quickly refused however and kept him there for another dance much to Jeremy’s family’s surprise.

“How on Earth did he improve in 3 months when I’ve been trying to get him to learn how to dance for years!” Queen Beatrice looked shocked.

“You have me to thank for that, Aunt Bea,” Odd grinned smugly. The Queen had already been addressed so by Ulrich who had known her since childhood but the offer had been readily extended to the rest of Jeremy’s friends over the years as well. “Just had to find him the perfect dance partner.”

Grandma Belpois overheard this and laughed. “His father was the same way, Bea. Michel could never dance until the day he met you.”

Michel Belpois only shrugged, his grin giving away the truth behind those words. His wife only laughed. “You and Jeremy always were alike in matters of the heart,” She spoke as she looked back to the dance floor where Jeremy and Aelita were now dancing as a group to a lively number with Ulrich and Yumi.

“It’s nice to see the girl he’s fallen for has such a good head on her shoulders,” Michel commented.

“It’s even nicer to see she feels for him the same way,” Bea replied having known his son’s fears of finding love since he was a young age. All royals found it hard to make true friends due to their status but Jeremy in particular had struggled both because of his shyness and extraordinary intelligence. Knowing that Jeremy had found a girl who loved him as he was and was just as precious as him was a great relief for Bea. Her son had friends and was happy in a way she had never seen him before and that was enough.

Michel agreed. As Odd left to woo a lady to dance with him and join the chaotic fray of friends making up the middle of the dance floor, Michel turned to his wife and asked for her hand. “Shall we? Our son’s growing up but doesn’t mean we’re too old to join in the fun.”

Looking around herself later and seeing the people she loved having fun with her, Aelita felt she had never been happier.

* * *

The royal friends soon found themselves back at Kadic for the Spring semester. As the snow thawed, things seemed to be looking up. Aelita’s tutoring sessions continued as normal and Lord XANA seemed to have backed off for the time being even if Sissi remained a pain.

It was during the second week of the spring semester that an announcement was made. Principal Delmas called for an assembly and the final year students all took their seats outside in the assembly garden. Whispers of excitement sounded throughout the yard as everyone guessed the announcement to be made. It wasn’t very hard as it was something all final year students looked forward to since the beginning of their training.

“Graduating Class of Kadic,” Principa Delmas addressed, “Starting today, once a week until the end of your studies, you will be taken to the Lyoko Palace. There, you will be instructed in your classes as usual but in an environment more similar to what you will become used to once you leave our prestigious school. The late King and Queen of Lyoko-“

“Ahem” A loud cough cut off Principal Delmas. Lord XANA glared at the greying man, looking impatient. On his face was a sneer that showed he resented who was being mentioned but it was easy to miss. Principal Delmas took it as his cue to wind up the announcement.

“The late King and Queen of Lyoko established this program to help young trainees. You will be granted access to the main parts of the Palace that aren’t the private quarters of the royal family. Lord XANA will accompany you as well as certain other faculty members.”

The Principal promptly stepped back as Lord XANA took to the stage looking at the students before him with strict indifference.

“You will be expected to arrive at the Palace in a timely function as you would be expected to if you were attending an actual royal proceeding. This is not merely practice. You are being granted access to the Palace for a reason and that is to make you habitual of your life. If anyone is found out of bounds without permission, it could result in _immediate expulsion_.”

Lord XANA looked straight to Aelita sitting in the back row. A chill went down her spine as she took in the warning. Beside her, her friends glared but Lord XANA had moved on.

The rest of the morning was spent by the students preparing for their afternoon in the palace. Closets were emptied as beautiful dresses and suits were picked out. There was a simultaneous groan that resounded from the dormitories when Jim came by not half an hour later to inform them that the class of the day would be Etiquette and not Ballroom. Students were not allowed extravagant dressing of any sort and uniform items were mandatory.

Aelita found herself sitting in her room half an hour before the buses for the Palace were supposed to leave. The boys were already there, sprawled across the room as the girls quickly grabbed their items.

“Sissi, can you imagine! The Palace of Lyoko! We get to see it!” Nikolas’ voice was heard from the open doorway to the hall.

“You idiot she grew up near the Palace!” Herb’s irritable voice followed.

“Exactly! I’ve been to the Palace so many times growing up. Lord XANA even gave me full permission to see the royal family’s private wing. It is all going to be mine once I’m crowned of course.” Sissi boasted.

The group in the girl’s room sighed as the voices faded.

“She’s been going on about this forever,” Yumi rolled her eyes. “If I have to hear about how many rooms in the Palace she’s seen one more time…! It’s just a Palace.”

“You’re not excited to see the Palace, Yumi?” Aelita asked. She had seen Jeremy’s home before. It was her first experience in a castle and she had thoroughly enjoyed it. It wouldn’t be her first time in one but unlike the others, she was still excited to see the house of Lyoko’s late royalty, having not grown up used to such surroundings.

“Oh no,” Yumi answered as she quickly ran a brush through her hair. “I’m looking forward to it. I just don’t think it’s as big a deal as Sissi is making it out to be.”

“I can’t wait to see the interior! The late King and Queen seem to have been so nice. I wonder what their home would be like.” Aelita looked thoughtful as she excitedly bounced on her bed.

“It’s too bad we can’t go to the royal family’s private wing,” Ulrich said. “I bet there’s a lot cooler stuff there.”

“Of course, we can’t go Ulrich. It’s disrespectful!” Yumi reprimanded.

“If you ask me having Sissi go there is worse than the rest of the public. At least the public respects the King and Queen. For Sissi, it’s always Me Me Me! The bathroom is mine and the hair dryer is mine and the carpets are mine. She seems to think she’s queen already! She isn’t even a princess yet.” Odd ranted. Yumi couldn’t argue. “With her grades Lyoko is probably better off without a ruler or will be left without one for a long time.”

“Come on guys,” Jeremy cut in. “We get to see a lot of the main floors. I’m sure there’s plenty of cool stuff to see there. And the Palace is big enough that if we’re lucky we might not even run in to Sissi.”

The five friends arrived with the rest to the royal palace and after a brief rundown of the rules again, the students were given permission to explore the ground floors for an hour before their Etiquette class was to begin.

Aelita found herself wandering the long halls with her friends, long having split off from the rest of the students. Eventually they game to what seemed to be a gallery. As they all branched out into the room an excited call alerted the others, who were all glancing at various portraits, to the middle of the room.

Yumi was standing in front of one of the largest portraits in the room. It was framed with a beautiful golden frame, carved with intricate designs. “Look at this!” The Japanese princess called. “This is the late King and Queen isn’t it?”

The others looked over in curiosity. A man stood in royal uniform, a crown on his head and spectacles on his face. A beautiful young woman stood next to him, her pink hair cascading down her shoulders adorned by a crown matching the one her husband wore. Jeremy adjusted his glasses as he read the name plaque standing below. “King Waldo Franz and Queen Anthea.”

“She looks a lot like my mom,” Odd finally commented. He looked sad. The others looked at him as he explained. “Queen Anthea was my aunt. She was my mother’s cousin.”

“You knew the Lyoko royal family?” Ulrich asked. It was common knowledge that the Della Robbias were distant relatives of the Lyoko royal family but the group had never known Odd was this closely related since he was always so quiet about the exact nature of the relation.

“I didn’t. I remember Mom said she was very close with her cousin since they were the only ones who had married so high up into royalty. She isn’t really close with any of her other cousins. Apparently, they used to visit each other all the time back before I was born. Adele and Pauline are probably old enough to remember.”

“How come you haven’t met them if your mother used to visit all the time?” Aelita asked, looking back between Odd and the portrait. The others seemed to be doing the same. Unknown to the others, Jeremy’s face was scrunched as he slowly moved away from the rest of the group, taking in the portraits next to the one of the King and Queen.

“Well… the last time they visited was almost two years before I was born. Mom was too busy taking care of me and Aunt Anthea had had a baby too. The Lyoko family was killed before I had a chance to meet my Aunt and Uncle or even my cousin.” Odd looked somber. He fidgeted slightly. “It would have been cool having a cousin my age. After my sisters picking on me all the time it would have been a nice change. Mom was devastated. She rarely talks about it because she gets so sad if anyone brings it up. She loved Aunt Anthea a lot.”

Odd’s sad musings were halted as Jeremy spoke up.

“The Lyoko heir… It was a girl wasn’t it?” He asked. The others looked to find him standing a few feet away in front of a solo portrait of Queen Anthea. His voice was serious and his face covered with a calculating expression. The others joined him in looking at the painting. Queen Anthea looked quite young in her portrait, roughly around the age the soon-to-be graduating royals would be, and Aelita was taken aback for a second feeling an odd sense of deja-vu.

“Yeah…” Odd nodded. “I think her name was Maya but that was just her royal name. Her real name started with an A, I think.”

“Real name?” Ulrich questioned.

“The Lyoko royal family has a tradition of double names,” Jeremy explained. “King Waldo was named Waldo Schaeffer formally, but his actual name was Franz. Queen Anthea doesn’t have a double name because she married in from the Noble Hopper line from Italy. But the Princess… she would definitely have had a second name. A name used more commonly in informal settings.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Yumi asked.

“Well… what if the Princess was still alive?” Jeremy adjusted his glasses again. His voice was cautious as he pitched his idea. “As far as I know, only the King and Queen’s bodies were recovered. It was assumed Princess Maya died with them because she wasn’t at the palace that day but what if…” The French prince walked down a few paces to another portrait. It depicted King Waldo standing behind Queen Anthea who was seated on a plush sofa holding a lovely pink haired baby girl in her arms.

“What if… what?” Odd looked nervous now.

Jeremy didn’t turn around at once. “What if… Princess Maya survived.” At this the young royal turned around, piercing gaze focused directly on Aelita. “What if she survived… but didn’t know who she was.”

For a moment they all took in the implications of Jeremy’s words.

“Jeremy… you can’t be serious?” Yumi caught on. Aelita was thankful because her brain seemed to have frozen from Jeremy’s insinuation and she couldn’t think, let alone speak. Her gaze quickly looked between the portrait of Queen Anthea and Jeremy. The others must have had a similar idea as suddenly her friends were all looking at her. Their gazes shifted between Queen Anthea’s portrait, the baby in the family portrait and Aelita standing in front of them.

“It might be possible…” Odd said softly. He turned to Jeremy with a glint in his eyes. He was seriously considering Jeremy’s theory. “She resembles Aunt Anthea… and also my mother.”

“It’s impossible!” Yumi tried to argue feebly with the blonde prince. “Ulrich?”

“I…” Ulrich looked between Aelita and the portrait again. “It would explain a lot.” He finally said. “But we can’t be sure.”

“Guys…” Aelita started weakly.

“Do you remember how you came to the orphanage?” Jeremy asked her. His voice demanded an answer but his tone was gentle. Jeremy knew what he was saying was a lot to take in and the last thing he wanted was to upset Aelita in any way. “You grew up there, didn’t you?”

Aelita nodded mutely, her thoughts still racing. “I was barely a year old. Someone left me on the doorstep.”

“But-“

Jeremy cut Yumi off. “I’m not saying it’s certain…”

“But we should look into this.” Odd finished. “There’s a chance my cousin is still alive.” Jeremy was surprised how quickly Odd had given in with absolutely no denial whatsoever. He looked scared yet hopeful as he looked at Aelita and that’s when Jeremy realized that perhaps he hadn’t been the first one to think of this theory. Odd had been more boisterous than usual when Aelita first arrived and only now did Jeremy realize it was because he himself wasn’t sure what to make of the family resemblance.

“And if she’s alive…”, Ulrich mused, “then that means that she’s still Lyoko’s rightful heir.”

Yumi finally seemed to relent, her mind coming around as she processed everything.

Jeremy turned to Aelita, seeing Yumi was finally satisfied. He walked over to the overwhelmed girl and gently took her hand, rubbing it soothingly in between his.

“I’m sorry if I startled you.” He said softly. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to but… can we? Will you let us look more into this? I’m fairly-no… _very_ certain there’s something more to discover that we haven’t yet. The pieces to this puzzle fit a little too well.”

Aelita looked between her friends. Ulrich and Yumi looked curious yet concerned, Odd looked extremely hopeful and pleading at the thought of discovering she was his cousin and Jeremy… Jeremy just looked worried. His gaze pleaded her to grant permission but it wasn’t out of curiosity although there was that too. He was genuinely concerned about what this all meant. And suddenly Aelita realized that he was concerned for her. If she really was the lost princess, it would open up a whole new can of worms. Questions with dangerous answers. But Aelita also realized she had to know. She _needed_ to know.

All those years in the orphanage she had wondered why she had been left at the orphanage. Who were her parents? Why did they leave her? She never had any luck before but for the first time… she had a lead. It was an opportunity she couldn’t ignore with the answers too scarily in reach.

“Ok.” Aelita breathed. “Let’s find our answers.”

Unknown to them, someone had heard the final part of their conversation and had slowly slipped away.

* * *

For the next week, Aelita tried to process the possibility that had newly been presented to her.

“I’ve never considered I still may have had any family,” she voiced one night after lights out. It was silent while Yumi contemplated what the younger girl had said.

“What about the girls at the orphanage?” Yumi finally asked from her side of the room.

“They were nice… but not really family,” Aelita shrugged. No more was said after that.

Another time Aelita was in Ulrich and Odd’s room, waiting for Jeremy to finish getting dressed in the next room. They were planning to go out to the town and Aelita had arrived while Jeremy was finishing up some homework. As she waited for Jeremy to arrive, she couldn’t help but look around the room. Aelita felt angry at herself for a split second as her eyes were instantly drawn to a picture frame on Odd’s shelf. She wanted to scold herself for being so predictable and having so little self-restraint on her hopes that were yet unconfirmed.

Odd noticed her silence and saw where her gaze was trained. The picture was of the Della Robbia family but aside from Odd’s sisters, his parents and grandparents were also in the frame.

“You’ve already seen my sisters…” Odd started, trying to sound nonchalant. He knew he was failing but Aelita was too given how her eyes had lit up at seeing what he was doing. “That’s Adele, Pauline, Louise, Elizabeth and Marie.”

Aelita took in the girls that were her older cousins.

“That’s my mother – Marguerite. Dad’s name is Robert.” Odd continued, pointing out as he went along. “And next to them is Nona. Mom’s mother. Aunt Anthea’s aunt. She doesn’t stay at the Palace too often. She prefers her own home but she visits a lot with Grandpa.”

“Does your mother have any siblings?” Aelita asked cautiously.

“Yes. But they’re all older brothers. That’s why she was so close to Aunt Anthea,” Odd explained. “Aunt Anthea was an only child and Mom and her were the only girls. They grew up together and Mom was older so she met my Dad first. Mom would take Aunt Anthea with her to any events she was invited to. She met Uncle Franz there. They still got together for holidays though. Family has always been important to the Della Robbias.”

Aelita looked in awe at Odd as he told her their family’s history even if her heart sunk. It hurt… these were the stories she should have grown up with just like him. There was a hole in her heart from the loss the more she realized just how much she missed out on growing up; but there was another hole that had existed in her since childhood and it was also filling up as Odd spoke, filling in the gaps of her identity. It was a strange sensation; the feeling of having holes carved into her heart while others were simultaneously being filled.

“Mom and Aunt Anthea were also much younger than my uncles so they got picked on a lot as children by Mom’s brothers. That’s kinda why growing up… I always wanted a cousin like mom had Aunt Anthea.”

Odd’s voice had softened considerably, almost sadly, and he focused on petting Kiwi who was demanding attention. Aelita gulped as she looked at the family in the picture frame again. Were they her family too? The question seemed to get louder with every second. Was this really her own history and identity? Or was it just a fool’s paradise she was becoming trapped in?

Seeing Aelita wasn’t about to respond, Odd kept talking.

“On Holidays it’s a lot of chaos when all my Uncles and their families join us.” His regular jokester smile was back on his face. He was clearly trying to distract them both from _what-ifs._ It was only partially working. “It’s a lot of fun though. But the past few years I tried escaping to Ulrich or Jeremy’s as soon as I could. This year too. There’s only so much a guy can take. Even with such a large castle, my mom’s family makes it seem small.”

Aelita laughed, imagining it, trying to force down the lump in her throat.

“It does sound like a lot of fun,” she said wistfully. She picked up the frame and looked closer at Queen Marguerite. She did look a lot like Aelita. Was this woman really her aunt? Her warm smile looked scarily similar to the portrait of Queen Anthea and Aelita almost felt herself tear up. She was thankful when Jeremy appeared in the doorway to the dorm.

“Sorry I took so long, Aelita.” He looked apologetic.

“Einstein!” Odd looked enthused. “Finally taking dear ol’ Lita out are we. Now young man, remember your chivalry lessons when taking a nice lady on a dat-“

“Aelita, ready?” Jeremy cut off Odd with a cough. His cheeks turned a pretty shade of crimson and Aelita giggled, forgetting her conflict momentarily, as she put the picture frame back and put on her coat.

“Take care of her, Jeremy!” Odd called behind them as they left the room. Aelita saw brotherly affection in the Italian prince’s eyes that almost made her eyes well up again.

Jeremy noted the exchange and gently slipped his hand in Aelita’s for comfort. His eyes promised Odd as they ran to catch the bus leaving for the town.

Aelita was somewhat silent during their trip. Jeremy didn’t fault her for it, knowing she’d talk when she was ready.

“I’m scared,” She finally revealed. They were sitting in lovely park, having just finished lunch. The bus they had decided to go back on wasn’t scheduled for another hour.

Jeremy remained silent, encouraging her to continue. He felt Aelita move closer for warmth and possibly comfort. He put his arm around her, trying to be braver like she needed him to be.

“I’ve started to hope too much. What if… it’s not true?” Her voice was quiet.

Jeremy waited a moment before speaking. “There’s a high chance it is true,” he started softly. “I’m sorry it’s taking me so long to figure out a way to prove it. I should have thought this through before dropping the bomb.”

“It’s not your fault,” Aelita insisted.

“If…If it’s not true… which is _very_ unlikely,” Jeremy insisted, “You’re still family, Aelita.”

Aelita only moved closer to the blonde prince as another biting wind moved past. He held her closer and while Aelita felt her affection for him rising, the hole in her heart was still there.

It wasn’t until Ulrich stopped by to see Yumi later that he found Aelita sitting alone in her room. In her hand she held a picture frame that had mysteriously been on her table when she had come home from her trip with Jeremy.

“You ok, Princess?” Ulrich asked, momentarily forgetting why he had come in the first place.

“Yeah…” Aelita flinched at the nickname before nodding. Suddenly it could mean a lot more than she had originally thought and it was just another reminder of what she lost.

Ulrich noted her reaction then looked at the picture frame Aelita was staring so intently at.

“Family isn’t blood you know,” Ulrich said sagely, accurately guessing what was distressing the pink haired girl who may or may not be a princess.

“Easy for you to say,” Aelita snapped bitterly.

“No.” Ulrich disagreed. “It’s hard for me. I wish I had parents like Jeremy’s and siblings like Odd and Yumi’s. They give them hell but they still love each other.”

Aelita frowned at Ulrich as he turned to walk out the door.

“If we’re all wrong about this… we’re still family,” Ulrich said as he stopped by the door. He hesitated for a moment, “Goodnight lil sis.”

He spoke so fast Aelita almost thought he’d said ‘ _Princess_ ’ again but he hadn’t. It was probably uncharacteristic of him to use this nickname in normal circumstances but, in that moment, it was a comfort they both needed. Aelita found herself smiling widely as she put the picture frame of the Della Robbia family back on her dresser and finally started getting ready for bed. The hole wasn’t gone… but it was smaller.

* * *

It was another week before Jeremy finally called them all to a meeting in his room. He didn’t beat around the bush.

“The only way to prove Aelita’s the lost princess is a proper DNA test.”

“That’s easy then. Odd’s right here. We can run one today!”

“It’s not that simple,” Jeremy frowned. “I had to look up Lyoko’s laws for this. Unless we directly prove Aelita a descendant of Queen Anthea or King Franz, she can’t claim her title. If Odd’s mother and Queen Anthea were sisters it might have worked but they’re cousins. The relation is too far to claim the throne with.”

“But how do we get the King and Queen’s DNA?” Ulrich asked. “Is there someone we can legally talk to about this?”

Jeremy’s face darkened. “Unfortunately. There is one person. Lord XANA. And I think it’s been made pretty clear he has it out for Aelita.”

“But… wouldn’t he help us here? This is a matter about the royal bloodline?” Yumi asked. “He’s got a grudge but this is his job. To protect the royal legacy until the next in line is crowned.”

“Did we ever think about why Lord XANA has a grudge against, Aelita, Yumi?” Jeremy asked carefully.

His friends frowned as they tried to figure out the meaning behind those words. Odd seemed to realize it first.

“No!” He exclaimed. “He couldn’t have!”

The group turned to Aelita who had turned white. She looked pleadingly at Jeremy, as if begging him their conclusion was wrong. Jeremy swallowed, his tongue feeling like sandpaper. Telling Aelita bad news was always hardest for him.

“I looked up as many records as I could find,” He spoke softly. He got up from his char and went to take her hand. “I even hacked into some official databases of the royal guard. Most of the reports for the public say that the accident was natural… but the hidden files? They all say in one way or another that everything doesn’t add up. Lord XANA is the prime suspect but no one was allowed to gather proof since he ordered all investigations closed.”

In the next moment the slamming of a door was heard as Aelita snatched her hand away and ran out in tears.

She had gone back to her room and half an hour later, Yumi returned from Jeremy’s dorm.

“How are you feeling?” She asked the younger girl gently. Aelita didn’t respond. Yumi sighed as she sat down on Aelita’s bed and gently put a hand on the girl’s mound of blankets.

“Sometimes bad stuff happens…” Yumi said softly, her own voice pained. “We can’t control it. But we have to move forward anyway even if it hurts.”

“Did you ever feel this helpless?” Aelita asked without turning around.

“A few times…” Yumi responded. “Mainly when my parents were fighting when I was younger. They’re royalty so of course they had to appear perfectly fine in the public eye. Seeing the reality behind the screen as well as the image they painted for the people… it was difficult.”

“How did you overcome it?”

“For a long time, things didn’t get better. But then I moved here and didn’t have to think about it as often. I only worried about Hiroki but a few years later he started at Kadic too. Stuff got better on its own. Mom and Dad have stopped fighting so often at least in front of us and they even see a counselor, I think. The change of us leaving was probably necessary for them to realize they needed to fix stuff instead of using us as distractions.”

Aelita was silent.

“When stuff gets out of your control the best thing you can do is move forward. One step at a time. And for me, that step was attending Kadic.” The _‘What will your step be?_ ’ went unspoken.

Yumi got up, leaving Aelita to contemplate her words.

* * *

The next day Aelita was feeling much better. She reassured a panicked Jeremy who looked like he hadn’t slept all night that she was alright. With a hardened resolve, she then demanded he tell everyone his plan. Jeremy complied. They would need two things to prove Aelita’s claims. The first was DNA from either the King or Queen. The second was evidence incriminating Lord XANA. Both seemed quite difficult. The Lyoko Palace was cleaned regularly so finding DNA outside of the royal wing was impossible. Incriminating XANA was even more impossible.

Then, Ulrich had a breakthrough.

“We don’t need Lord XANA’s permission to go to the royal wing of the castle!” He realized. “Odd! You’re family! You don’t need permission the way the rest of us do!”

This sudden realization sparked excitement in the group. An hour later, Odd was back in Jeremy’s room with private passes for everyone.

“How did you manage this?” Yumi asked, examining the card allowing her to access the palace’s private wing.

“Oh I just told Principal Delmas he had no right to stop me from visiting my family’s property. The Lyoko Palace has laws but family has always been allowed to visit. Jean-Pierre was about to inform Lord XANA to confirm though but I threatened to call my mother before he did. After that he had no choice.”

“Why not?”

“XANA can do a lot of things, Princess, but he can’t prevent my family from visiting because my mother knows him quite well. She’d be damned if her family wasn’t allowed to visit her favorite cousin’s home to pay respects.”

“Great job, Odd!” Jeremy grinned. He turned back to his computer and then frowned.

“What I don’t get is how Aelita was found at the orphanage?” He sighed. “None of the reports mention her being in the car but the orphanage Aelita was at is very near the crash site.”

The teens turned to the pink-haired girl. “I was found wrapped in a blanket on the doorstep,” Aelita shrugged. “They only knew my name because it was embroidered on it. M. Aelita. The headmistress of the orphanage had to give me a last name because they didn’t know what mine was.”

Jeremy lifted his glasses and rubbed his nose as he thought.

“Ok… M. Aelita. The Princess’ royal name is Maya. I’m still trying to find any official documents on her personal name. Those are harder to find. I’m pretty sure we’ll find it’s Aelita. It will help make things easier but until then we need some more evidence too, specifically regarding Lord XANA.”

“Doesn’t the Palace have security footage?” Ulrich asked.

“It gets deleted after a week or a month at most. Lord XANA would have made sure any of his plotting would be removed… if he plotted inside the palace at all.”

“What about the car’s documents?” Yumi asked. Jeremy blinked.

“She’s right, Einstein!” Odd shouted suddenly. “Remember royal protocol? Cars can’t leave unless they’re ensured safe to travel. Someone must have given the switch order.”

Jeremy’s face dawned with realization. “Yes!” He joined in the excitement. “I just need to find the chain of events. It’s been nearly 20 years so it’ll be hard to track. But I think I can manage it in time for coronation next month.”

* * *

The month passed by in a blur of final lessons and then exams. The group of royals took every opportunity they could to search the Royal family wing of the Lyoko Palace before and after lessons. It was in the second week of searching Aelita started to feel phantom memories which lead her directly to a small cabinet in the back of the nursery. While the rest of the royal wing had regularly been cleaned too spotless, this cabinet was well-hidden more for functionality than anything else.

Within it, they found a hairbrush and scarf that clearly belonged to Queen Anthea. The strands of hair stuck in the hairbrush were far too long to belong to a baby Aelita and Jeremy carefully wrapped the specimens in handkerchiefs he’d brought. Aelita offered her own hair later that day and one set of specimens was sent back to a lab in France, another to a private lab in Lyoko while another set Jeremy kept to test himself with one of his own biochem programs.

Jeremy had also managed to find an old locked diary hidden in King Waldo’s study. Finding the key to it had been an extra hassle but Aelita once again led them, by pure instinct, to the key hidden in the child’s music mobile above the crib of all things. Jeremy poured over the volume after asking Aelita’s permission. Aelita had been hesitant but knowing time was of the essence allowed Jeremy to keep it until the truth had been revealed in case it held any evidence.

More often than not both teens poured over the thing together. In scanning the pages they found necessary information regarding Lord XANA’s behavior. King Franz had clearly trusted his advisor, only becoming suspicious at the last moment. It wasn’t much… but it was enough.

Lord XANA was clearly growing suspicious because he was doing his level best to prevent the group of royals from visiting the palace, giving them detention wherever possible so they would lose their privilege of lessons in the palace. Jeremy also came back to his room one day to find his entire computer system destroyed. Aelita, Odd, Yumi and Ulrich had been devastated until Jeremy revealed he had a backup hard disk. The computer was replaced within the week and the work resumed.

Finals week left the group bubbling with anxiety but thankfully a panel of royal trainers were meant to judge the students instead of Lord XANA. Aelita walked out of her last exam after having shot Lord XANA a prideful look when the judges praised her. She breathed out a sigh of relief as she realized graduation was only a few days away.

It was unfortunate then, that Lord XANA had one last trick up his sleeve. It was a KO they all hadn’t expected because of how ridiculous it was but unfortunately it was enough.

Aelita returned to her dorms after lunch one day when she found her entire room ransacked. Yumi was standing, looking in horror. Lord XANA had an evil glint as he upturned their entire room until he found what he was looking for.

“I’ve found it, sir!” The guard declared.

“What’s going on!” Yumi growled.

“Miss Ishiyama…” Principal Delmas looked saddened. “It would seem Lord XANA has reason to believe you all took important artifacts from the private quarters of the Lyoko Palace.”

“WHAT!”

“That isn’t true!” Aelita protested. But it was of no use. Lord XANA led the party to the boys’ floor and did the same to the boys’ room. First Ulrich and Odd’s and then Jeremy’s.

The planted evidence lied and Principal Delmas was bound with the graduation coronation preparations in full swing.

“How can you accuse me of stealing from my own family!” Odd snarled, fighting the guards holding him in place.

“Visitation does not mean you were allowed to take anything you please Mr. Della Robbia. Everything within the palace is still Lyoko’s property.” Lord XANA looked so smug that Ulrich would have broken his face in had he been able to.

“Take them to the dungeons,” Lord XANA said turning to the guards.

“What about our coronation?” Jeremy asked coldly. “Diplomatic Policy is still intact. You can’t keep us detained more than 24 hours. Article 58 (B) for Royal Student Protocol.”

“Diplomatic Policy does not extend to thieves,” Lord XANA chided. “And I’m sure there is a lot on your computer we can find that will render your Diplomatic Immunity void, _Prince_ Belpois!”

Jeremy gritted his teeth and his eyes flashed. He had hacked into a number of private Lyokian databases in the past month and without proper reasoning he could be punished heavily for exceeding his boundaries. Lyoko could go to war with France over a Prince hacking their private files. It would be seen and treated as an act of war. Satisfied at Jeremy’s silence, Lord XANA looked at the rest of the group.

“Your parents will all have arrived for the graduation by tomorrow. After this we will be able to sort out this matter appropriately with necessary punishments and political repercussions included. Don’t worry, it will be _within 24 hours._ ”

There was no further talk as the group of teens were led to the Lyoko Palace and its dungeons. There weren’t many students milling around luckily so there was no commotion as they were herded out of Kadic.

Lord XANA ensured the students reached safely before turning to leave, sending one final smug look at the Lyoko Warriors as the automated doors closed, a resounding beep echoing through the containment room as the locks were put in place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely LOVE the idea of Odd and Aelita being real cousins or siblings. They really have that kind of relationship on the show too. Caring for each other but irritating each other as well. I just had to incorporate it in this story as well. Not only was it important to the plot development, but we get to see Aelita have a real family too.
> 
> Beatrice Belpois belongs to Kiwi Lee Scipio on FFN. She was kind enough to let me borrow her character for my stories. Go check out her story 'Christmas with the Belpois'. It's one of my favorite Jerlita fics with a lot of family fluff as well! 
> 
> Please do leave a comment if you enjoyed this chapter! It would make my day!


	3. Chapter 3

“UGH” Odd screamed. He kicked the metal door in a rage then jumped up and down holding his injured foot.

“There has to be a way out!” Yumi growled. “Jeremy! What was that! Why didn’t you say anything!”

“Because I couldn’t Yumi!” Jeremy yelled back. “If they sweep my computer before the trial they can delete any files that prove all we’ve worked for! Lyoko can declare war on France and I won’t have any proof of my defense!”

“But we _know_ Aelita is the Princess!” Odd growled.

“You think there’s any way for us, with the labels of criminals, to prove a girl from an orphanage who only attended Kadic because of _a lottery_ is the lost Princess? They won’t take us seriously because it sounds ridiculous!”

“Stop fighting!” Ulrich had had enough. “This sucks for all of us! Now we won’t even get to graduate and I don’t know about you all but my parents will kill me!”

Aelita looked downcast.

“I’m sorry,” she suddenly whispered. Everyone fell silent. “Because of me now you all won’t be able to graduate and Lord XANA is going to hurt your countries.” She sniffled as the first tears fell and everyone rushed to comfort her.

“It’s _Not_ your fault!” Jeremy said firmly as he took the girl he loved in his arms. “We agreed to do this and we were right.”

“Yeah, _Princess_ ,” Odd said, emphasizing her title with meaning this time. His eyes were hard. “It’s XANA’s fault. You’re the Princess of Lyoko and a Lady of the Hopper family. We weren’t expecting a final attack is all.”

“We need to though,” Yumi said as she gently rubbed Aelita’s shoulder as comfort. “We can’t keep fighting each other. There has to be something we can do.”

“Unless there’s a way to get out of here in time, I doubt it,” Ulrich sighed as he collapsed against a wall and slid down.

“Can we break out?”

“Not without the key code,” Jeremy said. “I could easily hack it with my laptop or phone but they took our devices.”

“So we’re stuck until they come to get us out?” Odd groaned.

“Looks like it. We can plead our case in two days but not much else.”

“It won’t matter then, will it? Sissi will already be Queen by then.” Ulrich said. “What’s the point?”

“It could save political ties,” Yumi pointed out.

“If they refuse to give Aelita back her throne and don’t let her graduate, she can come back to Italy with me.” Odd stated. “She’s my cousin and my family will welcome her when they find out she’s alive.”

“They’re right,” Jeremy nodded. “At this point the best we can hope for is saving political ties. They may agree Aelita’s the lost Princess but if Sissi’s crowned, I don’t think they will let her claim it. The best we can do is fix political relations. We’ll get minor sentences with me getting the most severe probably. We’d get our degrees from Kadic but private coronations back in our own Kingdoms.”

“It’s better than nothing,” Ulrich agreed.

The group fell silent then. Aelita still looked awfully guilty despite everyone’s comfort. There was little else to say. The mood was somber until Ulrich broke it.

“Remember, when Odd spilled his entire tray and Rosa wouldn’t give him seconds?”

A snort and a giggle. Odd moaned.

“Don’t remind me! I was starving that day!”

“Your fault you didn’t watch where you were going, Odd. And we all went out to eat before curfew just because of you.”

“It was my first time eating at a proper fancy restaurant,” Aelita recalled with a half smile.

“You looked so amazed!” Yumi agreed. “It was… humbling. Guess we all took our lives for granted before you came.” The raised royalty nodded. Meeting Aelita really had changed their perspective a lot.

“You better take her to some nice ones in France when we get out of here, Jer,” Ulrich snickered.

Jeremy blushed and looked away. Aelita looked confused.

“What do you-“

“Hey remember when we ended up destroying Herve’s foreign reforms paper on accident the same day he was planning on destroying Jeremy’s robot and cheating during the Bot Fight.”

And so it continued. The family of five recalled memories new and old. They told Aelita stories of before she joined them and reminded each other of everything they accomplished in the last year until they were all in fits of laughter in the cool floor of the detainment room. The hours slipped by and they almost missed the voice at the other side of the door.

“Hey!” It hissed. The young royals scrambled to their feet and ran to the door.

“Who’s there?” Ulrich commanded.

“It’s me! Sissi!”

“SISSI?!”

“Don’t sound so surprised!” The girl grumbled at the chorus from behind the door.

“What are you doing here, Sissi?” Odd recovered first. Then a spike of anger ran through him. “Come to taunt us some before your coronation tomorrow? Rub it in our faces that we lost?”

“No!” Sissi yelled back. “I-I-… I just want to know if its true… and if it is… I want to help.” There was a pause then, “So you better watch it Della Robbia! I may just decide to leave you all here after all!”

Odd was about to retort but Aelita spoke first.

“What’s true, Sissi?”

Silence… then, “Is it true you’re Princess Maya?”

The group felt a spike of fear rush through them. Had Sissi overheard them despite how careful they had been? Was she the one spying and telling Lord XANA?

“How do you know about that?” A sharp voice asked.

“I overheard you all talking on the first day at the Palace. You were practically yelling it.” Sissi huffed at the cold tone.

“Why do you want to know?” Jeremy took over. An indignant huff was heard through the door.

“I already told you! I want to help!”

“Why would you? If it’s true that means you can’t be Queen.” Yumi pointed out.

“I- I don’t want to be Queen if its not meant for me.” Sissi’s voice was barely audible this time.

“What?”

“I DON’T WANT TO BE QUEEN IF ITS NOT FOR ME!” She shouted. “Everyone knows I won’t be good at it anyway… Besides… I just want to do the right thing for once. Like Mama-“ She cut herself off. “Anyway, do you want my help or not!”

The trapped nobles looked at each other for a few minutes a silent discussion crossing their expressions. Sissi’s despondent voice had struck a chors in Aelita though. She knew that voice and its matching expression. It suddenly occurred to Aelita why Sissi acted the way she did. Always boasting her special selected position as the future Princess of Lyoko. Always bossing others around. The girl had only ever wanted to fit in with people who she felt were unlike her in the only way she knew how. In reality she had only ever wanted friends who understood her but hadn’t found them quite as easily as Aelita had. That realization solidified the decision in her mind.

“I am the Lost Princess Maya,” Aelita declared. She had decided to trust Sissi. It was the first time she had said it out loud to anyone, even her friends. “We have proof and Lord XANA knows. He… He killed my parents.”

Unknown to them Sissi’s face had softened and hardened in the few seconds it had taken for Aelita to say that. “How can I help?”

“Does he know you’re here?” Jeremy instantly went into work mode.

“No. I snuck out. The coronation is today. It’s already 3 AM.” Sissi told them.

Jeremy hissed. They hadn’t realized how much time had passed already. They’d been captured after dinner and hours had passed since then. “Sissi I need you to see if there’s a way to unlock the door, if not, I need you to run back to my room and get my laptop. If it’s not there, bring any laptop. Even your own. But _hurry_!”

Sissi looked around the hall where she was standing. There was a keypad in front of her but she didn’t know the code. The rooms nearby were all locked as well.

“There’s nothing here.” She finally said. “I’m going to get the laptop.”

“Don’t let Lord XANA or the guards see you!” Jeremy warned.

“Be careful, Sissi.” Aelita added.

* * *

Sissi returned almost an hour later, out of breath, but with Jeremy’s laptop.

“How do I get it to you?” She asked. There was no crack under the door. No way to get the laptop to Jeremy.

“I’m going to guide you how to connect my laptop to the security system. You need to listen to me very carefully, Sissi. I’ll guide you through the whole process.”

Sissi’s face was overcome with a nervous look which was quickly masked by determination. She muttered a quick affirmation then got down to following Jeremy’s instructions. The process was painstaking and took more than a few hours. The group winced every time the alarm warning went off and Sissi was sweating buckets trying to follow Jeremy’s walk through.

“Jeremy…” Aelita eventually set her hand on the stressed boy’s shoulders. “We’ll make it.” She looked at him with trust, gently setting her other hand over his fearful racing heartbeat. She knew he felt responsible for this mess and for getting them all out despite having done so much already. Now there was the added responsibility of saving his parents’ face and his own kingdom as well as Ulrich, Odd and Yumi’s. She leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth to reassure him. Jeremy’s hand came up and held Aelita’s over his own for a moment. He took a few deep breaths, exhaled and then finally turned back to the door.

“Sorry Sissi,” he apologized to the struggling girl who ahd put so much on the line for their sake. She accepted after a moment and Jeremy again started to walk her through the rest of the process, more gently this time. Aelita didn’t leave his side the whole time, her hand a steady comfort the entire time.

“It’s 9 o clock!” Sissi eventually said. “Lord XANA will be coming to see if I’m ready for the ceremony.”

“Just half an hour longer,” Jeremy said, desperately.

“Please Sissi,” Aelita asked.

“I’m not smart enough for this!” Sissi growled. “I know I said I’d help but I can’t! I don’t know how.”

There was silence.

It was Odd who spoke up suddenly. “Listen Sissi, I know we’ve been unfair to you, me especially. But as long as I’ve known you, you’ve never given up! You’ve done the best you can at whatever you put your mind to even if you were a pain to everyone else in the process. You’ve already made your mother proud by helping us… but if you finish this, we’ll all be able to fix the things that went wrong. Isn’t that worth it.”

Sissi was silent.

“Odd’s right, Sissi. Remember that time when we were kids? We wanted the cook’s special chocolate cookies before lunch? Jeremy and I were too scared to steal them from the kitchen after our parents tricked us and said no but you did it. And you even shared them with us.”

Jeremy grinned at the memory. “Cook remembers that memory fondly quite often,” He mused. “She often makes them just because of you.”

“See! A woman after my own heart there, Sissi,” Odd exclaimed. “Hacking into this prison is nothing on stealing cookies as a toddler!”

“I…” Sissi sighed. Against her will, her lips broke out into a smile. As tired as she was, this feeling of getting support and friendship that she’d always longed for was worth it. “What’s the next step, Jeremy?”

Yumi, Ulrich, Aelita and Odd cheered for her as Jeremy dictated the next few stops. A warning bell resounded again and Sissi groaned.

“You can do this, Sissi!” Yumi called out. “You’ve made it this far!”

Sissi grit her teeth as she focused again. Her ears were ringing as she tried to figure out the complicated programs but eventually sighed in relief as, at exactly half past nine, the light above the detainment room lit up green. A bell rang and this time the doors slid open. The teens trapped in the room yelled in joy and Sissi found herself tackled in a hug by the very people she had been envious of for years.

“Thanks, Sissi!”

“You’re incredible!”

“We owe you so much!”

“Take that XANA! The best double agent ever seen! Elizabeth Delmas!”

“Don’t call me Elizabeth!” She laughed but her eyes were moist with relief and joy. She had succeeded!

“We have to get going,” Jeremy said grabbing the laptop off the floor. “Sissi, go and get ready. The rest of us will have to lay low and it’ll take me some time to get our proof in order in time for the coronation.”

“Can you manage it? There’s less than two hours left, Jeremy?” Aelita asked as the group escaped the Palace grounds thanks to a secret passageway Sissi had shown them.

“I have some of the files already hidden in my room. It’ll be close, but I can manage it if I hurry. You all go and get ready too.” The French prince looked determined. “We’re _all_ graduating today.”

Aelita leaned up to give Jeremy a hurried kiss for luck on the cheek as they all rushed off.

* * *

The Lyoko Palace’s Grand Ballroom was beautiful. Glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the floor was glass jewels encrusted in marble. No expense had been spared for the ceremony because this time Lyoko’s own Kingdom was getting their own Princess. Beautiful tapestries hung from the walls. Plant arrangements were spread out giving the ballroom an almost fairytale aesthetic. Attending guests were seated above the main ballroom in numerous balcony boxes while the graduating students were seated on the main floor. A red carpet was spread out from the door to the altar on a raised platform where each student would be crowned and given their title.

Sissi stood at the end of the line. As Lyoko’s Princess she would be crowned last before the celebrations started. She looked up at the box where Lord XANA and her father were sitting. She hoped her new friends would make it in time. They had had to wait before everyone left before they could start preparing for their own graduations. She also knew they had to evade the guards at the door who had no doubt been warned against letting them in.

The line moved slowly as each Prince, Princess, Duke, Duchess, Lord and Lady of the kingdoms was announced but as Sissi found herself getting closer and closer to the altar, she worried about her friends. Where were they? Sissi didn’t know how to stall without outright exposing her intentions. When she finally stepped up on the platform, her ears were ringing as she heard the Priest declare this as a very special coronation and detail the reasons why.

Right as the crown was about to be placed on her head Sissi felt time stop for a moment. It was hard… so hard to speak up in front of all these people. Would it really be all that bad if she got crowned instead? She had been training for it half her life, after all, even if she still wasn’t the best at it. In a split second she had to make a decision. It was the most difficult one of her life.

Closing her eyes, Sissi inhaled sharply as she yelled, “WAIT!”

Everyone gasped in surprise and Sissi found herself resorting to doing something she had become an expert at years ago – Confidence and excuses. She had always been the best at throwing tantrums and getting what she wanted. This would be the show of her life.

“Have we followed the entire royal protocol for the coronation?” Sissi demanded.

The priest crowning her paused. “Um… Your Hi-“

“You’re telling me… I’m going to be Lyoko’s first Princess in almost two decades and we aren’t doing this properly?” She huffed. “The ceremonial procedures should all be followed. I want my rule to be authentic.”

The priest looked towards Lord XANA and Principal Delmas. The former looked displeased and the latter looked embarrassed and resigned. Finally, Lord XANA allowed the large book of royal protocol to be opened and the ceremonial procedures began starting from Sissi herself and moving to the servants and the audience members. Sissi gulped as she saw Lord XANA whisper something to his guards who swiftly moved out of the ballroom. It was clear the man had already grown suspicious. Sissi hoped the others would avoid getting caught. ‘ _Hurry Up, please…’_ she thought while plastering a smile on her face as the first procedure began.

It was during the fifth procedure that Lord XANA finally lost his patience. He had been expecting Sissi to give it a rest after the first few but that seemed not to be the case. He realized she was stalling on purpose as he suspected. “Enough! The rule remains authentic. The outdated ceremonies have been satisfied!” He turned to the priest. “Crown her!”

Sissi slowly backed away as once again, the crown approached her head, until… “STOP!”

The ballroom doors slammed open with a resounding thud and five young adults stood in the doorway. Sissi gasped in relief. Aelita, Jeremy, Ulrich, Odd and Yumi were standing there. They were out of breath and despite having cleaned up they looked somewhat ragged. But that wasn’t important. What was important was they had made it!

The five nobles in the doorway moved further into the room, jumping suddenly out of the way when a large guard jumped at them, running in from the doorway. A small dog was yipping at his feet, growling and biting at his heels making sure the man would trip if he took a step forward.

“Good boy, Kiwi!” Odd shouted.

“By order of Lord XANA, you’re all under arrest for treason and spying against the country of Lyoko and the former Royal family!” He growled. The audience gasped. The parents of the nobles he was addressing sitting in the audience gaped in shock.

“Seize them!”

The guard jumped to obey and was met by Ulrich blocking a hard blow. “GO!” He yelled back. “Jeremy! Aelita!”

Amidst the struggle, Aelita made her way to the stage where Sissi moved aside for her and with a deep breath, loudly declared: “I am Princess Maya Aelita of the Lyoko Family. Daughter of King Waldo Franz and Queen Anthea. I am the Rightful Heir and I’m making my claim to the throne!”

The gasps in the audience were even louder this time.

“PREPOSTROUS!” Lord XANA roared. “They’re criminals!”

“We have proof!” Jeremy said in a commanding tone. He held up a file of documents for the entire room to see. “DNA tests between Queen Anthea and Aelita. They’ve been verified by multiple labs and were conducted by France’s most advanced medical research center.”

The audience was spellbound.

“Why should a French research center be trusted! It’s clear you rigged the lottery to place a spy on the throne. Your computer activity would certainly prove it _Prince_ Jeremy!”

Jeremy’s face remained impassive although a cold fury was hidden behind his eyes. “Lyoko’s medical centers also confirmed it. If there is any doubt, they can be retaken. But I don’t think there should be any doubts considering Aelita’s resemblance to Queen Anthea.”

Aelita felt everyone’s gaze drawn to her and murmurs broke out affirming that Jeremy was correct.

“She’s just a decoy! She must be related to the Hopper family! France and Italy have had close political ties for years!”

Queen Marguerite stood then supported by her husband. Her face was a stark white with shock and her eyes bright with tears. “This girl… is not one I have ever met before. She cannot be from my known family.”

King Robert frowned. “Be careful what you’re insinuating Lord XANA.” He warned.

King Michel was next to him. “France and Lyoko have always had peaceful relations. It is not in the interest of your small nation to be making such antagonistic claims.”

Lord XANA smiled sinisterly. “It is not I who’s sent his son as a student undercover to steal Lyoko’s secrets by hacking into private royal servers. Thus, I think we can agree it is certainly not I who is threatening peaceful relations, Your Majesty.”

Everyone turned to look at Jeremy.

“Son…?” Jeremy’s parents looked at him pale-faced, begging for this to be untrue. Their eyes assured they trusted him but this had dangerous implications and had to be treated properly.

Jeremy took a deep breath. “I did hack into Lyoko’s Royal Servers.” He admitted openly. “However, I had a reason for it!”

“HE ADMITS IT!” Lord XANA declared loudly. “Let it be known that Lyoko did not incite war. It was France’s only Prince!”

“I had a reason!” Jeremy repeated forcefully.

“He was aided by Yumi Ishiyama of Japan, Ulrich Stern of Germany and Odd Della Robbia of Italy!”

The murmurs grew louder as everyone looked horrified at the group of nobles standing in the middle of the room. Lord XANA’s words were winning them over. Yumi’s mother, Queen Akiko had slumped over in her seat, as had Ulrich’s mother. Their husbands only hardened, their faces marred with sharp anger at the claims.

“QUIET” A new voice screeched.

Sissi stood in the middle of her group, eyes wild. “They have a REASON. I, Sissi Delmas, chosen of Lord XANA to assume Lyoko’s throne, am witness to it.” Her voice shook as she stepped back, giving the floor back to Jeremy.

He looked at her, conveying his immense gratitude through his eyes. Sissi nodded and Aelita took her hand to comfort the shaking girl. Jeremy looked at his audience, took a deep breath and then began.

“King Waldo and Queen Anthea’s death was no accident. It was staged by someone close to them. Princess Maya was not yet one. She somehow ended up in an orphanage. No one had seen her in the Palace the day of the wreckage…”

They boy turning man slowly told the story to the shocked audience as Lord XANA grew paler and paler. He had not at all anticipated the teens to have put this much evidence. He had only thought they knew about Aelita’s identity with no proof to his involvement in the murder. As Jeremy finished speaking, he growled as he stood and marched down to the main floor.

“YOU!” He screamed. “You ruined EVERYTHING I worked for! YES! I staged Franz and Anthea’s deaths! I worked HARD for my power and I DESERVED a throne. And YOU…” He swung violently towards Aelita. The pink-haired girl stepped back in alarm as Odd and Ulrich took up protective stances in front of her, daring Lord XANA to come closer. “You were supposed to die too! I don’t know what happened but you were gone from the Palace when I came back! I thought you had been kidnapped but it was easier to say you’d died with your parents to convince the people!”

Spittle went flying as Lord XANA confessed to his own crimes. “My Plan was PERFECT! I had a useless, hairbrained royal chosen as successor to the throne! Manipulating the Delmas family was only too easy with one being a dim-witted Principal with no experience ruling a country himself and his daughter being the weak-willed, selfish idiot she is! Give them what they want and they do your bidding! The perfect PUPPETS!”

Sissi felt her heart fall as she heard those words. All her life… she had wondered why Lord XANA had chosen her among all others from Lyoko’s royal hierarchic families. She had wondered if she had possessed an elegance and grace none of the other prospective princesses did. Was it because she was a better negotiator than the potential princes? Was she more diplomatic and beautiful than the potential princesses? All this time… It had been because she was stupid. Because Lord XANA knew he could control her without question.

“Don’t call her that!”

Sissi looked up, her eyes full of tears, to hear the young nobles surrounding her who were now defending her.

“You’d be surprised… _Lord_ XANA,” Jeremy said sardonically. “Who do you think helped us escape?”

“She’s known my identity for months!” Aelita whispered furiously. Lord XANA’s admittal to murdering her family had cut deep but she wouldn’t remain silent when her friend needed defending. “She refused to tell you.”

“She gave up a chance at a throne!” Yumi shouted. “She didn’t have to help us but she did!”

“She’s been my friend since we were little!” Ulrich said. “She’s always been strong willed, determined and intelligent.”

“Her strategy is always out of the box. She NEVER gives up!” Jeremy added.

“She’s the most resilient person I know!” Odd finished. His eyes were angry but he sent a small smirk Sissi’s way, almost like an inside jerk as he continued: “And you’ll regret thinking you could play with her without consequences.”

Sissi felt her eyes sting with her unshed tears and her lips twitched with a smile at Odd’s reference to their own antagonistic game over the years. She had once told him he’d regret playing with her when he’d pranked her. Now he was defending her with those same words. Straightening her shoulders, Sissi swallowed the tears and took a step forward. She looked Lord XANA straight in the eye.

“You underestimated me.” She hissed. Her eyes held a fearsome ice. “I’m not your _puppet_ and neither was my father! I am your _downfall_!”

Behind her, the priest had heard enough. “GUARDS!” He yelled. “Take him to the dungeons.”

There was a minor struggle and Aelita took the moment to step forward. “You killed my parents,” She said quietly. The ballroom was silent as everyone strained to hear her. “I have no idea how I survived. But I’ll make you pay!” She spat. She turned around, waving to the guards to take him away. Her friends surrounded her once more.

Lord XANA vowed vengeance as he was dragged from the ballroom, kicking and shouting. He was followed by a guard each from the Japan, Italy, France and Germany entourages for extra security.

There was a sudden shocked hush that fell over the room once Lord XANA left.

“If I may…” A voice spoke up. It was Jim. He looked bashful as he stood up from his seat next to the students and looked around the room. “I know how you survived, Princess Maya.”

Aelita looked up hopefully at the kindest teacher she had met during her time at Lyoko.

“I…I was a guard at the Lyoko Palace when you were little,” Jim explained. “I’d rather not talk about it… It’s difficult to recount so I never had. But your father… he suspected something was wrong. The moment the Palace got the notice your parents were in a crash I took you to the orphanage nearest. I was planning on bringing you back as soon as you were of age. But you won the lottery…” Jim looked embarrassed. “Staying silent for longer seemed to be the better option.”

“You knew, Jim?” Ulrich asked in shock.

“Of course! Why do you think I supervised so many of your tutoring lessons with her?” He asked.

Aelita suddenly flung herself at the older man and hugged him tight. “Thank You,” she whispered. Jim had saved her first on her father’s orders. The man hugged her back and gave her a gentle pat. “I just hope I did your parents proud, kid. They didn’t tell me much of what to do. I’m sorry for leaving you like that but I didn’t want to risk Lord XANA finding ya.”

“You did enough Jim,” Aelita answered, eyes still wet. “I owe you my whole life.”

After that revelation, for a moment, no one knew what to do. Then, Queen Beatrice stood up from her seat. “Shall we continue the coronation?” She gently prompted.

The group of nobles yet to be crowned looked at each other and burst into laughter. A few tears even slipped out. They had certainly cleaned themselves up but their clothes were rumpled from running and hiding from guards to make it to the Palace on time. It didn’t matter though. The group lined up as the Priest commenced the ceremony again to crown the final six students of Kadic’s graduating class.

“Lady Royal Sissi of Lyoko.”

“Princess Yumi Ishiyama of Japan.”

“Prince Ulrich Stern of Germany.”

“Prince Odd Della Robbia of Italy.”

“Prince Jeremy Belpois of France.”

And finally,

“Princess Maya Aelita of Lyoko!”

A chorus of cheers rung out from the attendees as the six, newly crowned, royals walked to the front of the stage. They linked hands as the audience in front of them dipped into curtseys or bows, thanking them for finally returning the Lost Princess home.

* * *

After the ceremony, the ballroom was cleared for a party. The graduating students had their photographs taken and Aelita, Yumi, Jeremy, Ulrich and Odd quickly went to get changed. The clothes they had worn while rushing to the ceremony were more than a little frumpled and were more casual than they enjoyed wearing at a formal ball in celebration of not only graduating but their victory against Lord XANA.

Aelita sighed as she sat down on one of the chairs. Her hand reached up to adjust the tiara resting on her pink locks.

“Tired?”

Aelita looked up to see Queen Marguerite standing next to her. Odd had introduced her to his parents a while back and her mother’s cousin had hugged her tightly with tears running down her cheeks. “If only I had known…” She had sniffled. “Never would I have let Anthea’s daughter grow up in such a way.”

Aelita didn’t remember how her mother would hug her, but she imagined it had the same warmth as Queen Marguerite. They were cousins after all. Aelita had felt a lump rise in her own throat and had hugged her aunt back just as tightly. It wasn’t her mother but it felt close enough. She could see both Odd and Anthea’s face and now that it had sunk in that she had some family left alive, it finally felt like her missing piece was complete. 

“Just a little,” Aelita nodded as her Aunt sat down next to her.

“You don’t have to get used to ruling right away, you know,” Her aunt said. “Come home with us. Get to know your family.”

Aelita bit her lip as she considered the offer. “Who will take care of Lyoko? I-I want to… but…”

Queen Marguerite sighed with a smile. She took Aelita’s hand, her eyes fond. “Just like your mother.”

“I am?” Aelita looked hopeful. Her aunt only smiled.

“More than you know…” She replied wistfully. “Heavy is the head that wears the crown. And you’re wearing your mother’s tiara.”

Aelita felt her hand unconsciously go back to her hair.

“Franz had it made for her specially. Called me in the middle of the night the week before the wedding to ask what Anthea would like because he said he could work on nothing else with her on his mind. He was foolishly in love with her, that one. Looked at her like young Prince Belpois over there looks at you,” Her aunt gave a laugh as she noticed Aelita’s blush when she nodded at Jeremy. The older woman then got lost in memories. “He adored you too. Franz was so excited after you were born whenever we would talk. Anthea used to joke he loved you more than her.”

“He protected me til the end,” Aelita whispered as tears came to her eyes. Jim’s story of how she had escaped certain death at Lord XANA’s hands was still taking time to sink in.

Queen Marguerite reached out and touched Aelita’s cheek. “They would be so proud of you, dear. That you grew up so well. That you found your way home. That you have good friends. And that you’re so responsible and brave. And so am I.”

Aelita felt the lump return in her throat as the first tears fell. She was the one who initiated the hug this time.

* * *

Jeremy gave a sigh of relief as he looked out at the rest of the room full of laughter and chatter and celebration. He hadn’t ended up getting France embroiled in war. He knew Lord XANA would play that card against him but the political ramifications were a risk he had had to take for Aelita’s sake. He would do anything for her sake. But things had turned out well and all charges were dropped. His mother had both hugged him and given him a light tap on the head for messing with something so dangerous without at least telling them and asking for help. In hindsight that did seem like a pretty stupid move but at the time none of them had actually considered telling the adults would help with the kind of strict foreign relations they had to follow.

But Jeremy’s parents were proud of him. They had known the King and Queen of Lyoko. Knowing Aelita was their daughter had come as a shock to them but they were glad the truth had been revealed. They had assured the newly crowned young adults that they would be following up on Lord XANA’s trial and offering whatever assistance necessary. That support was backed by the King and Queen of both Germany and Japan who were still quite surprised by the events but were simply relieved that their children’s actions would have no repercussions. Italy’s support went without saying.

Aelita had been grateful and felt more a part of Jeremy’s family than ever when his parents had offered their assistance. She had hugged him tight once they had gotten away, whispering ‘Thank Yous’ that made him feel on top of the world. It was all worth it.

A part of Jeremy still couldn’t believe they had done it. The month and a half of sneaking around and hacking into files and research had all proved what he had initially figured out about Aelita all those months ago. She was Lyoko’s lost princess. It was a relief they had managed to succeed. But that didn’t mean a part of him still wasn’t sad about what it meant for him and his hopeful plans.

A part of him was relieved. Aelita had a family now. She knew her history. Where she came from. It wasn’t at all a happy story. But it had a happy ending. Jeremy found himself wondering what would have happened if Aelita hadn’t gotten drawn in the lottery. She had told him she had only entered her name thrice this time, as opposed to previous years. Would Jim have somehow gotten her accepted some other way? Would he have still met her and befriended her if that was the case? Jeremy finally concluded that some things certainly existed pure on chance and destiny. What mattered was, she had entered into his life and brightened it up considerably and now he hoped she would remain so forevermore. That was what made him sad… the doubts about whether it was possible.

Kadic had been a safe haven for them all. While Jeremy knew he would miss Yumi and Ulrich and Odd, his friends since middle school, it was Aelita who was in his heart who he was the most scared of parting with. He had had a plan for that before. One practically everyone had known. One he had been too shy to voice for the longest time not realizing it wasn’t even needed.

Aelita had asked him one day back in the beginning, if anyone would choose her to be their advisor with her lack of practical experience growing up. He had comforted her then reassuring her she was one of the smartest in the class and so many would want her to be their advisor. He hadn’t been lying. What he didn’t know was that no one would dare ask her because they all knew Jeremy would. And Jeremy did plan on it. But now Aelita was a Princess and he hadn’t had any time to come up with a new plan.

A sudden panic seized his heart. Would Aelita still want to be his friend now that she was a Princess? Logic told him Aelita was certainly not the type of person to use him but his confidence gave way to insecurity sometimes where it mattered the most. Lyoko and France were neighboring countries. It wasn’t too difficult to come visit. But if they got busy, then what? Would Aelita still bother with him? What about their mutual feelings? What would become of them? Should he confess or was Aelita happier as she was now. Was it even the right time to confess now that so much had occurred in the past 24 hours? Jeremy suddenly felt like he needed Aelita more than she needed him and he wasn’t sure what to do about it except panic.

His brooding was cut short by one of his obnoxious best friends.

“Well, well, Einstein. We won! Why so serious? Lighten up _now_ at least,” Odd said, slinging his arm around Jeremy’s shoulders.

“That’s not it, Odd.” Ulrich smirked. “Aelita’s a Princess remember? Looks like Jeremy here has quite the dilemma he’s still struggling with.”

Jeremy flushed and refused to meet his friends’ eyes.

“Ohhh!” Odd sounded in realization. “He’s right Einstein! Times running out. You gonna ask her or what?”

Jeremy shrugged out of Odd’s grip. “I…I don’t know.” He mumbled. “What if she doesn’t feel the same?”

His friends’ expressions told that even they knew that was a lie. Even Jeremy and Aelita were aware of the other’s feelings.

“What if it’s not the right time? So much has happened and what if she just wants to stay friends for now?” He tried again,

“Smartest in our graduating year and still such an idiot?” Odd said woefully slapping his palm against his forehead dramatically.

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to discourage me as her cousin or whatever?” Jeremy asked weakly. “No threats? Nothing?” He turned to Ulrich. “And you… you’re in the exact same position as me! When are you going to tell Yumi?”

Odd rolled his eyes. “I’d discourage you if I didn’t know how much you already loved her, good buddy. If you hurt her then it’s not just _me_ you’ll have to worry about so I’ll take my chances. But if you’re gonna be an idiot and ignore that she loves you too and nothing would make her happier than you fessing up, I might just be tempted.”

Jermey frowned as he looked out to the dance floor where Aelita was goofing off with Yumi and Sissi. His eyes softened as he looked at her. “She deserves so much…” Was the only explanation he offered.

“And you are enough,” Ulrich replied, patting the newly crowned French prince on the shoulder. “So go tell her now before it’s too late and you regret it. She can’t come to France with you but you can still make it work.” Seeing Jeremy’s raised eyebrows, the German prince continued, “And I’ll go tell Yumi before its too late for me too.”

* * *

Aelita pulled Yumi and Sissi aside on one of the ballroom’s open balconies away from the hubbub.

“So… I was told I needed to make a decision about my Royal Advisor.” Aelita said to the two girls in front of her. “I was given time because of the circumstances of course but… I think I already know my choice.”

Yumi and Sissi looked at each other. Yumi looked excited but Sissi’s face seemed to fall fixed by a quickly plastered faux smile. She was about to turn away when Aelita said, “Sissi… Would you be my Lady Royal?”

Both dark-haired girls gaped in shock. “M-me?” Sissi asked in disbelief. “Why me? I was awful to you.”

“You did the right thing in the end,” Aelita shrugged. “And I could really use someone who’s been studying politics longer than me.”

“But… why not Yumi?”

Yumi wanted to know the same. Her eyes were clouded with hurt in a way never before but she refused to speak out in front of Sissi. Partially out of politeness and partially pride. _“Why not me?”_ She seemed to ask Aelita without words. _“I’m your best friend since the beginning. You know how much I’ve wanted to stay close to you guys so why her?”_

Aelita read all these questions and more. She took the older girl’s hands in her own.

“I didn’t choose Yumi for a very important reason,” Aelita said to both but mainly addressing her older friend and roommate. “Trust me, Yumi. You know I’d never hurt you. You’ll find out why soon enough.”

Some of the hurt abated and Yumi nodded. In her eyes, lingered a curiosity but for now she let it be.

“Congratulations, Sissi,” Yumi said warmly. There was no resentment and Sissi was even more taken aback.

“You really don’t think I’m too stupid for this?” Sissi looked downcast. Lord XANA’s vicious words had been weighing on her throughout the party. “You really trust me after I was awful to you all year because I was… j-jealous?” She said the last word so bitterly and Aelita took Sissi’s hands this time, forcing the girl to look at her.

“Never,” Aelita affirmed. “You’re one of the most trustworthy, strong willed people I know. The past has been forgotten.”

Sissi finally smiled then. “Well then I’m honored to be your Lady Royal, Princess Maya.”

Grievances forgotten and a bright future to look forward to, the three friends laughed then. Hand in hand, they went back inside to dance.

* * *

It was a little while later that Jeremy came to pull Aelita away and soon Ulrich followed suit, wanting to talk to Yumi. Sissi was about to go sit down, not wanting to dance alone by herself when someone unexpected offered his hand.

“Want to dance, Sissi?” He asked.

Sissi looked at the purple-suit clad prince with mock disdain. “You’ve graduated Della Robbia. Please don’t tell me you’ve forgotten proper etiquette of how to dance with a lady already!”

The prince shot her a grin as he grabbed her hand anyway, recognizing their fights which had now become a game. Sissi didn’t resist. “Nah, but I don’t need all that to charm the ladies.”

Sissi snorted but allowed Odd to lead her in the dance.

“I heard Aelita made you her Royal Advisor,” Odd said.

Sissi nodded. “I thought it would be Yumi.”

“There’s a reason why it isn’t Yumi,” Odd shrugged. He looked to wear Ulrich and Yumi had left through a while back and Sissi suddenly realized.

“If Ulrich weren’t going to ask her then Aelita would never have picked me.” Her voice was almost bitter.

“Then Jeremy or I or Ulrich would have,” Odd said nonchalantly as if it was a fact and no big deal. Sissi almost wrestled her way out of his arms then and there.

“You can’t be serious,” She bit angrily. “You all have hated me forever. Especially you, Della Robbia. Just because I helped you once doesn’t mean you have to pretend to be nice.”

“I’m not,” Odd said. It was the pure honesty in his voice that kept Sissi from storming off. “We’ve never gotten along Sissi but what you did for my family is a debt I can never repay. You were awful to us but we were awful back. And I admitted I really didn’t like you for the longest time but that was before I understood what the reason was. I think we can put it behind us now, don’t you think?”

Sissi frowned as she thought this over. “Deal,” She replied after a moment.

“Great!” Odd was ecstatic. “Now that the serious stuffs out of the way, I can do this.” He surprised her with a dramatic dip and Sissi shrieked. Odd cackled as the dark-haired girl yelled at him. She decided to step on his toes in retaliation as they continued to dance.

The dancers in their surroundings looked at the strange pair. The Prince in his purple suit and the Lady in his arms who was glaring daggers at him as they danced, her hair a mess from the way he had dipped her. They shook their heads as they watched them continue to bicker as they danced; the most unlikely of pairs.

* * *

Ulrich led Yumi out to the balcony where Aelita had talked to the girls before. She had been surprised but not unhappy when the brunette prince had led her away. She had a feeling where this was going and she’d been waiting for a while for this moment.

“What a day huh,” Yumi broke the silence. “We managed to reveal the truth about Aelita, lock up XANA and graduate too.”

“Yep.” Ulrich nodded. “Quite a rollercoaster.”

There was silence for a moment again then, “Now, you’re going back to Japan now that this is all over?” Ulrich looked at her tentatively. He took a sip of the juice he’d brought from inside.

Yumi took a sip of her own drink. She looked contemplative as she looked onto the horizon where the sun was almost setting. “That depends…”

“On?”

“If I have a reason to stay.”

Ulrich joined her in watching the horizon. “Don’t you? Hasn’t Aelita asked you to?”

“She asked Sissi to be her advisor,” Yumi answered. “Said she had a good reason for not picking me too. Did she?”

Yumi turned to look at Ulrich and the German Prince realized what Aelita had meant to do. Their sneaky pink-haired princess had given them both a chance.

“Yeah…” Ulrich replied as a smile slowly grew on his face. He stepped forward and gave a slight bow then held out his hand. “Princess Yumi Ishiyama, would you come back to Germany and be a part of my court. As my Royal Advisor and… and the woman I intend to court? I trust and care for you more than anyone else. There’s no one I can think of better.”

Yumi smiled at Ulrich’s confession. With a returning curtsey she shook his offered hand. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek then. Both of the normally stoic young royals blushed as they stood together and turned to look out at the pink horizon together.

“I accept your offer, Prince Ulrich Stern of Germany. I would love to be your advisor… and I care about you too.”

* * *

On another balcony on the other side of the ballroom, a shy Jeremy stood with Aelita. The prince had never seen her happier and seeing the pure joy on Aelita’s face only made his heart beat faster and his cheeks grow warm.

“You’re having fun?” He asked her.

“It’s great!” Aelita replied. Then she looked down as she leaned back against the stone railing. “I… It feels so strange, Jeremy. That it’s all over. That it’s true. That Jim saved me. I haven’t had time to fully digest it.”

Jeremy stepped forward and hugged Aelita. She held him tighter, listening to his heart beat with a content sigh. Jeremy made her head spin but cleared it too. It was the best feeling. She felt his chest rumble as he talked, “I feel the same way, Aelita. It seems so long ago that I figured out the possible connection but at the same time it feels like no time has passed and we’ve already succeeded.”

Aelita pulled away then her eyes bright with unshed tears. Their faces were still close. “Thank you, Jeremy. Without you… I never would have known. Not until it was too late.”

“Anything for you,” Jeremy whispered. His eyes were soft as he took her hand and raised it to his lips. Aelita looked up at him hopefully, her heart beating just as fast as his, His blue eyes shone as bright as the first stars that slowly began to dot the sky which was transitioning with the sunset from soft orange to purple.

“A-are you happy, Aelita?” Jeremy asked cautiously.

“Yes.” Aelita replied without hesitation. “You’ve made me so happy, Jeremy. I’m so glad I ran into you on the first day.” She giggled as she recalled but there were nostalgic tears behind her laughter too. Jeremy smiled. His heart rose to his throat as he tried to force the words to come out.

“You remember when you asked back in the beginning, if anyone would ask you to be their Royal Advisor?”

Aelita nodded.

“I-I was planning on it. You’re my best friend. And you mean everything to me Aelita, I-.” He paused. “O-Of course… now you have to stay on Lyoko and I must return to France but…”

Aelita squeezed Jeremy’s hand, her eyes begging him to continue. Their feelings had been clear to even each other for so long.

“I can’t be without you,” Jeremy finally said. “A-Aelita I… I love you.”

Without waiting a beat Aelita responded. “I love you too, Jeremy!” She whispered.

She raised her hands to cup his cheeks as she gazed at his face in adoration. This was her first friend. _Her best friend._ He had offered her kindness and safety at Kadic. He had offered her his family and home when she had none. He had offered her his time and sleep and energy to unveil the truth about her identity. And he now offered her the love she had felt for him for so long too. The love they had felt for each other, together.

He leaned down as she leaned up.

“I love you,” they repeated as their lips finally met in a tender adoring kiss.

It was what they had waited for, for so long. Their longing glances, their shy blushes, the spark they felt every time they danced. The trance that had them forgetting everyone around them when they were with each other.

They finally pulled away but Aelita kept her arms around Jeremy’s neck and he held her close around the waist.

The music from the ballroom filtered in as twilight fell and the stars came out and twinkled above them. The breeze tickled their hair and the rose brambles growing around the stone balcony released their fresh scent into the atmosphere. They stood there in a loving embrace, two best friends, two lovers, and both of them finally felt that they were home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that brings us to the end of the story. I wrote an epilogue but I'm not fully satisfied with it so not sure when it will be up (if at all). Not wanting to leave questions unanswered though I'll link my original headcanons post as well. In summary, what happens is:
> 
> -Jeremy and Aelita get married and combine Lyoko and France into one Kingdom  
> -Yumi and Ulrich get married and Yumi becomes the Queen of Germany alongside Ulrich  
> -Odd stays in Lyoko more often than Italy because his sisters are enough to run the Kingdom. He prefers to spend time in Lyoko closer to (annoy) Aelita and (court) Sissi. Jeremy visits often when courting Aelita and so do Ulrich and Yumi since they also live in a Kingdom bordering Lyoko. He ends up marrying Sissi eventually as well and much to Aelita's grief, she can never get rid of him and his pranking ways from her Palace halls. xD
> 
> https://oceanspray5.tumblr.com/post/618407431766163456/kadic-royal-academy-au
> 
> PLEASE leave a comment if you enjoyed this story. I struggled a lot to write and post this. I was worried no one would be interested in such a detailed obscure AU so if you enjoyed it... pls validate me... But yes, comments would make my day and I always appreciate them. Constructive criticism too!

**Author's Note:**

> I worked EXTREMELY hard on this so if you enjoyed even a single scene of this fic I really really hope you'll be kind enough to leave a review! It would honestly make my day and make all the effort I put into it worth it.
> 
> I'm Iffah Mughal on FFN so you may see this there as well although I post there less frequently. My tumblr is Oceanspray5 like on here though and my twitter is Iff-ustin if you wanna come say Hi there.


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